Ivy Can Grow Anywhere
by Misty7books
Summary: In the summer after her fifth year, Ivy Potter has doubts about the headmaster of Hogwarts, and decides to send a letter to the Dark Lord. Contains Hedwig the shipper. Fem!Harry, kinda Dark!Harry, TR/HP HP/TR Ron!Bashing
1. Letter N1

_**Chapter 1:**_ _ **(928 words)**_

Ivy Potter was not impressed.

Though she had despised and not trusted the meddling headmaster from the moment she laid eyes on him, she still had a slight respect for the powerful man. A respect that had ended that day. It was the Dumbledore's fault that Sirius was dead. It was Dumbledore's fault that she went to live with her abusive aunt, uncle, and cousin. It's Dumbledore's fault that she was planning to do something that was rather stupid.

She was running to the owlery, wanting to send a letter to a certain someone. She wasn't sure if Hedwig would get hurt out of it, but she didn't want to use one of the school owls, and her owl was pretty bad-ass, so Hedwig was likely to return.

Ivy tugged out the letter from her pocket once more, checking it before she sent it. She knew that she was only doing this from a spurt of rebellious thoughts of revenge against Dumbledore (not that he'd ever find out about this), but she was actually rather curious of what would happen.

The letter read as so:

 _Voldemort,_

 _So, I just thought that you'd want to know that I'm thinking of punching Dumbledore right in the face. It  
would be rather satisfying, don't you think? Please don't hurt Hedwig, she'd probably just come back as  
a ghost and haunt you for daring to mess with her,_

 _Love, Ivy Potter_

She rolled her eyes at the content of the letter, but overall, she was rather happy with it. It was short and to-the-point, so hopefully, Voldemort won't get bored and brutally murder Hedwig. She was hoping for a reply, but if Hedwig got out unscathed, then Ivy would consider that a success.

"Here you go, Hedwig. Please, try not to die; I would be rather upset," she told her snowy owl, stroking the feathers in a calming manner, "See you soon."

Hedwig flew away, and Ivy only left once the snowy owl had disappeared far into the horizon. It was a Tuesday, and the last week of school. On Friday, they would board the train back to London, where Ivy would get abused and no one would realise. You know, the usual.

Overall pretty satisfied at the work she had done that morning, she raced to the Great Hall before it began filling up. It was very early in the morning, but Ivy couldn't sleep again, her damn nightmares keeping her awake. Ivy picked up a slice of toast and, as quickly as she raced into the Great Hall, the ebony-haired girl sprinted out just as Professor McGonagall stepped into the hall. She was the first teacher there that morning, so she was rather surprised to see a wide-awake Potter and an empty Great Hall behind her.

Ivy ran to the Room of Requirement, knowing that in there was the only place where she would be able to find peace and quiet for the rest of the school year. Ron and Hermione had been trying to get her to talk about Sirius, but she refused. She didn't want to talk about one of the last connections to her parents that she had, who she lost.

Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she pushed them away, and Ivy began reading a book on Animagus forms. She was tempted to become an illegal one, just as a way to connect with her parents and Sirius. Also, it could be one of her escapes too! She wondered what her form was, and she attempted to meditate to find out, just as a certain Dark Lord was being delivered a letter.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

"Master, there is an owl here, and she is demanding to come in," rushed a frightened Wormtail to the Dark Lord, who was currently sitting on his throne. He would much prefer to not be wearing a glamour that made him look like a deranged snake-human hybrid, compared to a Tom Riddle who seemed to have just reached twenty years old.

"Let the darn thing in, then!" he demanded, and Wormtail scurried off, very similar like a large, fat rat, much to the Dark Lord's amusement. The man scurried back with the owl pecking his head. Voldemort noted that it was a pure snowy white, a rather beautiful owl, he admitted, and he wondered of the owner. He allowed for the owl to land on one of the armrests of the throne, and the owl stuck out it's leg. Being a competent Dark Lord, Voldemort tested the letter for any signs of a prank or something dangerous, but it seemed to just be a letter. Weird.

Voldemort took the letter from the impatient owl, and he rolled it open. It was safe to say that he was not expecting the author of the letter to be… _her_. It contained:

 _Voldemort,_

 _So, I just thought that you'd want to know that I'm thinking of punching Dumbledore right in the face. It  
would be rather satisfying, don't you think? Please don't hurt Hedwig, she'd probably just come back as  
a ghost and haunt you for daring to mess with her,_

 _Love, Ivy Potter_

The Dark Lord, _the_ Dark Lord, gaped at the words. So little girly Potter was thinking of turning against Dumbledore then? Good, very good. He would have to change some plans but… first things first! He had to reply to the letter. He doubted that Potter would trust him, but he was rather curious as to what she would talk about.

"Wormtail! Bring me parchment and a quill!"

 **A/N: And thus the letters!AU is born. Well, this one is, but it is not the first specimen of letters!AUs out there!**

 **Anyways, fem!Harry in this one! I named her Ivy after plants, like how her mother's called Lily. She would originally be called Tulip, but I don't feel like it would suit her very well, so Ivy it is. So there you have it, I'll have the next chapter up soon, be patient!**

 **Enjoy!**


	2. Letter N2

_**Chapter 2:**_ _ **(1253 words)**_

Voldemort had quickly been given some parchment and a quill by his 'loyal servants', since they, for some reason, didn't feel like getting Crucio-ed a few times that day. It seemed to be a thing they all shared though, so it was rather useful when he wanted something quick.

"You may leave," he dismissed Wormtail, and some other Death Eater, though he didn't care to check.

Unsure if he wanted to continue his correspondence with Potter over the Summer, the Dark Lord wrote as though he were interested in what she said (he actually was, he was just in denial):

 _Potter,_

 _I haven't a clue as to why you would write to me. What if I had fried your chicken alive? I doubt you would have been rather delighted  
in that occasion. To respond to your own letter, I was rather surprised to learn that the Gryffindor Golden Girl is thinking of going against  
the 'Light Lord'. Might I ask why you have decided to oppose the meddling fool? Sometimes I think he's more insane than me, personally.  
And anyways, I'm curious,_

 _(In)sincerely, the Dark Lord Voldemort_

He nodded his approval to himself, though wondering if he was being to straightforward, but he just dismissed these thoughts, and he rolled up the letter and tied it to the owl, which was still impatiently waiting for the letter to return to Potter. What did the annoyingly heroic girl say the owl's name was again? Hedwig? Never mind, the Dark Lord of the age had more things to worry about compared to the name of an owl belonging to Potter. Maybe this would be good? The Light would lose all hope if their beloved Golden Girl joined the Dark. It's rather ironic, the figure head of the Light turning Dark, but on to other matters.

A Dark Lord's work is never done. It's mostly the paperwork that's holding him back, stupid paperwork!

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Slightly disappointed that she wasn't able to discover her Animagus form while she waited for her snowy owl to return from her trip, Ivy was now panicking.

Though she didn't regret sending the slightly (read as: absolutely and completely) reckless letter, not by a long shot, she was freaking out about Hedwig's safety. What was she thinking, sending a letter to Voldemort of all people?! And with her beloved owl! Was she crazy – wait, no, don't answer that.

Waiting in the owlery, having snuck in using her invisibility cloak and the Marauders' map, she was immensely relieved when she saw a speck of pure white approaching the window at the owlery, the midnight blue sky a perfect background. It sure made spotting her snowy owl easier, in any case. It was about one in the morning, she couldn't sleep again; her nightmares about Sirius weren't going to disappear anytime soon. Oh well, it was good practice of the silencing charm, anyways. "Hedwig!" she cried, relieved out of her mind when her owl landed on the windowsill, right in front of her. "Thank goodness, what was I thinking?!"

Hedwig hooted.

"Hey! You didn't mean that!" Ivy responded, rather crazily too. She loved pretending to have conversations with Hedwig, it freaked everyone out, and she could usually tell what Hedwig meant through the tone of her hoot anyways, so it's not like it's very far off. "Okay, okay!" she gave in to the large, adorable eyes her owl was looking at her with, "I'm sorry I put you in danger! But I can do those doe eyes a lot better, I must say."

Hedwig hooted, seemingly in the affirmative.

"Aww, thanks, Hedwig!" Ivy responded, stroking the feathers of her lovely owl, and she picked up the letter, curious to see what the Dark Lord had replied to her with. Would he be insulting? Would he be delighted that she was having such thoughts? Would he be curious as to why? To be honest, it was more like the latter, though there was an insult to Hedwig, and an insult to her owl was an insult to herself!

 _Potter,_

 _I haven't a clue as to why you would write to me. What if I had fried your chicken alive? I doubt you would have been rather delighted  
in that occasion. To respond to your own letter, I was rather surprised to learn that the Gryffindor Golden Girl is thinking of going against  
the 'Light Lord'. Might I ask why you have decided to oppose the meddling fool? Sometimes I think he's more insane than me, personally.  
And anyways, I'm curious,_

 _(In)sincerely, the Dark Lord Voldemort_

First and foremost… Hedwig wasn't a chicken! What was Voldemort thinking, calling her such a thing?! That was low, even for the Dark Lord, and he can go _low_. She had to say, though, the 'insincerely' was absolutely hilarious, she cackled like a muggle version of a witch for a good few minutes after reading that.

"So, Hedwig… Do you think I should keep sending letters to him? He hasn't done anything to you, and he actually seems to be interested in the things I have to say, unlike Ron, the bloody git," the ebony-haired witch mumbled the last part, slightly grumpily as her friends didn't seem to understand her wishes to stay silent about Sirius, including Hermione, who insisted that it would 'help' her 'deal' with the pain. Also, she had raised some of her concerns about a certain Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore without revealing that she was thinking of turning against the headmaster, but Ron seemed unable to see the darn old coot as someone other than a pure, perfectly Light God. Hermione though, oh, Hermione was just curious about the point of view that Ivy had introduced to the pair. The bushy-haired witch still seemed slightly sceptical about it all, but she was willing to see it from her point of view, something that Ivy was extremely grateful for.

Her owl hooted in the affirmative once more, and Ivy wandlessly and wordlessly made a scrap of parchment and a self-inking quill appear on the windowsill. She had been practicing in secret for a good few years now, but was afraid in showing it so far: she wanted at least _one_ back-up plan in the fight against Vold-

Wait…

Is she against Dumbledore now? Okay, that's super confusing. All her (Hogwarts) life, she had been taught to see Voldemort as the enemy, the one true enemy. However, she was thinking that perhaps it was truly the man who had taught her such things who was the true villain of her rather messed up life story.

Still, could be worse. Like… if Voldemort had actually 'fried' her 'chicken alive', she would be pretty upset. Although, she certainly didn't enjoy her life all that much, Ivy would much prefer to be as ordinary as possible.

Of course, that's exactly what the Dursleys want as well, and there's no way in hell that she's having similar goals to those jerks!

Deciding to just go to bed and write the letter to Voldemort tomorrow, Ivy banished the scrap of parchment and the self-inking quill into… oblivion, she guessed, unsure where banished things actually go. The ebony-haired girl muttered a, "Goodnight," to her beautiful snowy owl and made her way back to her bed, sinking into the covers and listening to Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione snore at different pitches, volumes, and speed.

"Goodnight," she muttered, once more, into the dark room, though no one heard her, as everyone was fast asleep.

 **A/N: First things first, don't think that these daily updates are going to be a usual thing! I was just feeling very inspirational today's all.**

 **Oh, also, I wrote down Dumbledore's whole name without checking what it was or how to spell it, so if it's spelt wrong, then I apologise. Although, I'm very proud of myself for doing it! :)**

 **Enjoy (no more updates until… tomorrow, probably)!**


	3. Letter N3

_**Chapter 3:**_ _ **(3270 words)**_

When Ivy woke up, she realised that it was about half six. The only ones awake in her dorm was Hermione, who was too focused on reading an extremely thick book to notice that Ivy had woken up. The ebony-haired witch sat up on her bed, and whispered, "What are you reading about, 'Mione?"

Hermione jumped at the voice and turned to look at whoever had spoken to her, who turned out to be a wide-awake Ivy Potter. "Oh, good morning, Ivy. Sorry, I didn't realise you were awake."

Ivy just waved a hand in her direction, though, and told her, "It's fine, 'Mione. I know how you get with books."

The bushy-haired witch blushed at that comment, but decided not to mention it, "Well, this book in particular is about all different kinds of healing magic. There's some Dark healing magic, that heals Dark wounds and curses. You know, there's a section that only people who can speak Parseltongue can perform. At least, I think so. It's written in Parselscript, so it would make sense that only someone who could read it could do it."

Nodding her head thoughtfully, Ivy responded with, "That actually sounds really interesting. Do you mind if I read it after you're done with it? I could translate it if you'd like."

Hermione gasped, eyes wide and excited, "Really?!"

Ivy nodded and smiled at her bookworm friend. Hermione quickly told her in a rush that she would finish reading the part in English later that week, and asked if Ivy could translate it during the Summer. Ivy winced mentally, but responded in the affirmative. At least she had _something_ to do while at her abusive family's house. As well as corresponding with the Dark Lord. Wow, she was going to have a holiday filled with reading and writing. Oh well, it _was_ something to do.

The two girls dressed and walked down to the common room at around a quarter to seven. Breakfast starts at seven, so Hermione just sat down on one of the comfy armchairs by the fire, which was put out as it was almost the Summer holidays, and she began to continue reading the book on healing magic. Ivy decided that this was a good a time as any to write her responding letter to the Dark Lord's letter and she used her wand to make some parchment and a self-inking quill appear, not wanting to reveal her skill at wandless, wordless magic.

She then began scratching the parchment using her quill with her normal chicken-scratch, in Snape's words anyway. It read as follows:

 _Voldemort,_

 _Hedwig is an owl. I thought you, being the Dark Lord, would at least be smart enough to know  
that! Anyways, you remember what happened at the Ministry, don't you? Well, my godfather  
was killed during all of that, and it's all damn Dumbledork's fault, too. If he just actually told me  
about the damn prophecy earlier this year, none of this would have happened!_

 _Sorry for… well, 'shouting'. I'm just so angry at him, and he just stays calm with his stupid eyes  
twinkling all the time. And by the way, I absolutely agree with him being crazier than you, you're  
not even all that bad. And no, that wasn't a compliment!_

 _There's just so many examples of Dumbles being an idiot, and a crazy one too. I'd make a list but  
it'd probably take up this entire piece of parchment, and I'm sure you don't want to read all that.  
Maybe next letter, but this is already a very long letter, so sorry about that._

 _Love, Ivy Potter_

Ivy sighed.

This letter was so long, and most of it was just her ranting about how incredibly annoying their headmaster was. Hell, she'd even considered joining the other side of the war before. And now that she was writing civilly to the Dark Lord himself, then maybe that outcome wasn't so far off. She certainly wouldn't mind turning Dark. It actually sounds pretty fun, in her opinion!

Anyways, it was almost seven by now, so she stood up and rolled up the parchment while calling for Hedwig to come to the window. Almost as if the snowy owl had sensed that Ivy needed her, Hedwig showed up a few seconds later with her leg outstretched. Ivy laughed at the eager owl and she secured the letter to the Dark Lord to her leg. Ivy than whispered, so Hermione wouldn't hear, "Take this to Tom, okay?"

Hedwig hooted in the affirmative and took off, flying into the sunset like the previous day. Hermione raised an eyebrow at Ivy sending someone a letter. A far as the bushy-haired witch knew, there wasn't anyone outside of Hogwarts that Ivy would send a letter to other than Remus Lupin, so Hermione asked, "Who are you sending a letter too?"

"Uhh," Ivy froze on the way back to her comfy armchair, "It was to Remus, I just wanted to know if I'd see him during the holidays."

Hermione responded with, "Of course you will! He's your family, and he cares about you! We all do!"

Ivy smiled in thanks nodded silently at the words, glad that Hermione hadn't spotted the lie, and packed her school bag for the day. After all, even after all of that happened, there was still classes to go to. Sometimes, Ivy couldn't believe it, how only she and a few others were the only ones who knew and cared about the death of 'murderer' Sirius Black. It's like no one cared around all of them, like nothing of interest had happened, other than the Ministry finally agreeing with her and Dumbledore about the return of Voldemort.

"C'mon, 'Mione. Let's go and eat something. You don't want to be late for class, do you?" she teased her friend, and Hermione merely rolled her eyes, placed the thick book on healing magic in her bag, and followed Ivy to breakfast, knowing that Ron wasn't going to get up any time soon.

Ivy was, to be honest, rather excited for Voldemort's response to her rather lengthy letter. He was actually pretty fun to talk to. Maybe, if she eventually joined the Dark side of the war, she could speak to him in person, without any of them trying to kill each other. It would be pretty awkward at first, she was certain of that. They were both so used to trying to kill each other, it would be very strange having a normal conversation with him, but it was still something she looked forward to.

"Ivy?" Hermione asked next to her, noticing that her friend was slightly distracted with something on her mind.

The ebony-haired witch just shrugged, though, and told her friend, "I was thinking about that book on healing magic. It's just so… interesting. And I didn't know that Parseltongue could be written down!"

Hermione laughed, and responded, "Well, it's a language, isn't it? And most languages can be written down, like Parseltongue."

Ivy nodded, glad that Hermione didn't catch her lie again. She didn't really like lying to her friends, but they just wouldn't understand it if she told them that she was writing to Voldemort.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

The Dark Lord of the age was pacing in his private quarters at Malfoy Manor pondering on what to do next. He could lay low like he had been doing for a year, but was there really a point in doing that if people now knew of his return? They would think him weak for not doing anything after their discovery of him.

He sighed as he was very much stuck on what to do. Luckily, his thoughts were stopped by a certain snowy owl showing up from out of nowhere. He had opened a window the previous night so that he wouldn't be interrupted by Wormtail if the owl returned with a letter from Potter. A part of him _was_ surprised that Potter responded to him again. Perhaps she was just crazy when she sent the first letter? Why would he even respond to her, what was he thinking?! Still, she had responded to him once more, but what if it was about how it was a mistake to send a letter to him?

Tom didn't know why he cared so much about what Potter thought of him. He was supposed to kill her, wasn't he? That was what the prophecy warned, only she had the power to defeat him. Then again, what if she didn't want to do such a thing? What if she joined him? The only thing that could defeat him on his side? It was a good idea, he had to admit.

"Come here. Hedwig, was it?" he called soothingly to the owl, who seemed to not trust him all that much. Of course it didn't, he had been trying to kill Potter for a good few years now.

The owl, however, hooted when he asked for her name, and she seemed to hoot in the affirmative, so he slowly walked towards her. Once he reached her, he took out his wand and tested for any curses or pranks. Once he saw that there was nothing, the owl stuck out her leg for the Dark Lord to remove the letter. It read as follows:

 _Voldemort,_

 _Hedwig is an owl. I thought you, being the Dark Lord, would at least be smart enough to know  
that! Anyways, you remember what happened at the Ministry, don't you? Well, my godfather  
was killed during all of that, and it's all damn Dumbledork's fault, too. If he just actually told me  
about the damn prophecy earlier this year, none of this would have happened!_

 _Sorry for… well, 'shouting'. I'm just so angry at him, and he just stays calm with his stupid eyes  
twinkling all the time. And by the way, I absolutely agree with him being crazier than you, you're  
not even all that bad. And no, that wasn't a compliment!_

 _There's just so many examples of Dumbles being an idiot, and a crazy one too. I'd make a list but  
it'd probably take up this entire piece of parchment, and I'm sure you don't want to read all that.  
Maybe next letter, but this is already a very long letter, so sorry about that._

 _Love, Ivy Potter_

He didn't notice it in the previous letter, as he had been so surprised, but he now noticed that she had written _'Love'_ at the end of the letter. Surely, that mustn't mean anything! He shook his head, pushing away those thoughts and focusing on the rest of the letter.

He was surprised to see how much Potter actually despised the crazy old coot. He knew that she certainly didn't trust him all that much anymore, but he wasn't expecting this level of hate to be present in her words. He was actually quite curious about reading a list of what Dumbledore had done to her. He hoped it wouldn't be so much that he would murder the old coot while others were watching. He then froze at the thought.

Why was he feeling so protective over Potter?

"Ugh," he sighed and pushed away those thoughts as well. He decided that he might as well respond to the letter now, and he set out finding some parchment and a quill to reply to the letter. He wouldn't want to keep the girl waiting, she was probably super impatient and arrogant, being as famous as she is.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

"Ivy! 'Mione! Where were you?" cried an angry Ron as the trio walked to double potions first thing in the morning.

"Well, Ron, we were eating breakfast," Ivy shot back, trying to calm down before she did something she regretted. She needed to control her temper if she was ever going to join the Dark side of the war, and at that moment in time, she was rather aiming towards that.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the red-head, but she looked curiously at Ivy. She was certain that Ivy would shout back something she would regret, but it looked like she was trying to hold back her temper. Hermione was proud of her friend for trying to grow up at least a little bit, unlike Ron, the git, "Ron, be quiet, it's time for potions now."

"All you ever care about are lessons and school! We don't need good marks to get anywhere, we're famous!" the red-head shouted at them. The three were gathering a rather large crowd.

Ivy was so close to snapping, but thinking back to her letters to the Dark Lord, and how she was hoping to join Voldemort, she let out a tiny little smile, and took a deep breath, looking at Ron with determination in her large Avada Kedavra green eyes at the red-head. Ron took a step back, not expecting Ivy to be so calm. Nor did anyone else, as they all took a step back too. This was all greatly amusing to Snape, who was standing by the entrance to the potions classroom, looking at what was about to happen. No one realised he was there, the sneaky snake. Well, no one but Ivy, who was always very observing.

She smirked and calmly told Ron, "Perhaps some of us don't enjoy their fame, and would prefer to work for what they want and deserve it, unlike you." She then spun around and walked up to their potions master, "Professor Snape," and she waited outside the door, as the man had not said anything about entering.

Snape was not expecting Potter to be so polite, but he greatly preferred it to the reckless Gryffindor version of her, though what she just did _was_ very reckless. "Yes?" he questioned all of the students standing there, confused as to what just happened. Ron was flushed and furious, looking as if he was about to explode, "Get to your lessons!"

All of the students scurried away, except for the ones who were just having potions now. Snape smirked at Potter, who was standing at the front, and he nodded and gestured for her and the others to enter, which they did. Malfoy sat down straight away, and Ivy smirked as she thought of a very amusing idea, as the blackboard at the front of the class held the words _'Gryffindor and Slytherins in pairs for brewing.'_

She strolled over to where he was sitting, by the front, and sat down next to him. He looked at her and her Slytherin-like smirk and raised an eyebrow, "What you did outside was very amusing, Potter. I could almost mistake you for a Slytherin"

Ivy smirked once more and nodded, responding with, "Thanks, Malfoy."

"So," the blond began, as Snape put the instructions for the Draught of Peace, which is what they were brewing that day, "why did you choose to sit yourself down by me?"

He sounded actually curious, instead of accusing, so Ivy answered with, "Because I thought it would greatly amuse everyone."

Malfoy rolled his eyes at the answer as she returned with the ingredients required for the potion, and Malfoy set up the cauldron and he got the equipment required, "And also because I'm miles better at potions than you?"

She chuckled quietly, trying not to disrupt the quiet working atmosphere. People were still talking quietly like them, though, "Yes, that too."

He nodded, and responded with, "Well, I guess I can survive with being your partner at potions for just this once. It _would_ amuse everyone greatly, and you saved me from being paired with some other Gryffindor dunderhead." He seemed to find her Slytherin side hilarious, and Ivy caught Snape looking greatly amused (he hid it very well, but she could tell, as she _was_ very observant) himself at the conversation, which he obviously heard. The two worked on the potion for the rest of the double lesson, and talked of ordinary school things. Not once did Ivy's plans of joining the Dark come up, and she was greatly relieved as she wasn't sure how Malfoy would react.

Ivy wore a gobsmacked expression as she saw Snape grade their potion with an O, and Malfoy elbowed her to look less surprised, as _he_ was the one that helped her, so of course they did so well in the lesson. She merely rolled her eyes, pick up her bag, and say, "Until next time, Malfoy," and she walked away with an angry Ron and an amused Hermione trailing behind her.

Before Malfoy left, though, Snape called for him to remain after the lesson.

Once everyone had left, Malfoy asked his godfather, "What is it?"

"I just wished to know why Potter had paired with you, and why you had allowed such a thing to happen," he responded, though he was smirking with an amused look in his eyes, so Malfoy knew that he wasn't in trouble.

"Well, I asked her the very same thing, and she spoke of how everyone would find it amusing, and also that I was quite adept at potions," Malfoy answered truthfully, not only because he knew that his godfather would know if he was lying, but because he kind of didn't understand it much himself, "I don't quite understand why she would pair up with me, someone she despises, because it would be amusing. I always knew she had a bloody hero-complex."

"Language, Draco," Snape told his godson, and then he admitted, "I don't understand it myself. Perhaps it would be best if you would ask her."

"Her friends wouldn't let me get anywhere near her, Uncle Sev," Draco responded.

Snape, though, merely replied with, "Don't you worry, Draco. I assume that Potter will distance herself from Weasley, and Granger will be curious herself."

Draco nodded, and once he was dismissed by his godfather, he left and returned to his common room as he had a free period now, and he explained what had happened to Pansy, Theo, and Blaise, his closest and only friends, what had happened with Potter, and what his godfather told him.

The four friends decided to try and get closer to Potter, though that would prove difficult as there were only two to three days left until they all left for the Summer holidays. "Perhaps we should just leave it? It _is_ Potter, after all," Blaise pondered.

Pansy then responded with, "But if what Draco said was true, then she's very different than what we all thought. I think we should just try to get close next year."

Draco nodded, "I didn't lie, she seems a lot more… Slytherin than what I remember."

"But what about the Dark Lord? What will he think of all of this?" Theo commented, he was usually silent though. The four friends pondered over his words, and Draco then thought of an idea.

"Okay, first things first, he'll be okay with us getting closer to her as we could use that to lure her somewhere, so he'll be okay with it, I think," he told the other three, which all nodded in agreement, "Also, what if he ever changes his mind? Or Potter joins our side?"

"Right," Blaise sarcastically told them, and he snorted, "Like she would ever do _that_!"

"Hey we never know," Pansy spoke up, "I for one would love to have another girl in the group."

With the four in agreement, they all decided to leave their mission of befriending Potter to the following school year as they had no time in this one. In any case, it was going to be an interesting few months.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this one! I made Hermione really close to Ivy, and Ron as a lot more jealous and temperamental. Also, Draco, Pansy, Blaise, and Theo will be firmly on the Dark side, and will eventually be friends with Ivy in the following year, though I hope she'll be Dark by then.**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter, I won't cover any more lessons for the rest of the week in the story, but I will write about every day, as Ivy and the Dark Lord need to get writing! ;D**

 **Enjoy!**


	4. Letter N4 and 5

_**Chapter 4:**_ _ **(3696 words)**_

The Dark Lord was rather pleased with his plan for the following year, and he was certain that he was going to be rather busy this Summer. Not because he had made many plans, though he did have some, but it was just a feeling, though he wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps it would be his correspondence to Potter, and the marking of some of Hogwarts' students, who had offered to be marked straight away.

He had decided to make them wait for a while. After all, they were all underage, and attending a school that was run (mostly: if you include Snape) by the Light side of the war.

Voldemort – well, Tom, since he wasn't wearing his glamour – began to write his response to Potter's letter, excited to see the list for Dumbledore's actions against her, though part of him knew that he wasn't going to like it:

 _Potter,_

 _How is it that for the majority of your life, you have the Dark Lord after you, and now you will  
soon have the Light Lord after you too. At least, that is if you want to join the side of the Dark  
any time soon. It is purely your choice, of course._

 _I was not expecting for you to despise Dumbledore so very much, though I certainly expected  
for you to not trust the old coot, as it was his actions that decided the fate of you godfather,  
Sirius Black, was it? Very sorry about that, by the way, and I apologise. I would like to see a list  
of his crimes against you. Perhaps you may even help me 'take him out' if you eventually decide  
to join my side._

 _Sincerely, the Dark Lord Voldemort_

He didn't place the _'In'_ before the _'Sincerely'_ in this letter, as he truly meant what he wrote. Well, he also meant what he wrote in his previous letter, but he didn't believe it, not really. Still, a part of him wondered if he was being too straightforward. What if he read the entire situation wrong and Potter didn't want to become Dark?

Tom pushed the thoughts aside; this was worth the risk.

"Hedwig," she hooted affectionately at his use of her name, "Could you please take this to Potter, if you may?"

He tied the letter to the snowy owl, but she still looked at him expectantly. Unsure of what she wanted, he replied to expectant stare with, "What? Do I need to say specifically where Potter is?" The owl hooted, seemingly in the negative. "Then what is it?" She still looked at him expectantly, and then he realised what the owl was trying to do.

"What… I, no!" he flustered, very much unlike the Dark Lord, though he would never admit it. She continued to stare. "Ugh, fine. Could you please take this to _Ivy_ , if you may?"

Hedwig nodded at him, smug that he called her owner by her first name, and then she took off to wherever Potter – no, _Ivy_ (he was rolling his eyes, you could practically hear it) – was, somewhere in Hogwarts.

Tom then picked up his wand and casted the spells required to transform him into the weird snake-human hybrid that everyone thought he looked like. He was going to call for a Death Eater meeting once the list of crimes Dumbledore had committed against Ivy (damnit, he was calling her by her first name now) had been delivered to him. He needed to act on whatever it told him, he knew that much.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

"What the hell, Ivy?!" screamed Ron to Ivy in the hallways a few minutes later. The students, having expected this to happen, began to crowd around the trio (Hermione was standing next to Ivy). Pansy, Blaise, Theo, and Draco were near the front, ready to defend Potter if necessary, though Pansy clearly thought that it wasn't needed.

Ivy rolled her eyes, spun around, and stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, so Ron almost crashed into her and Hermione, "What's wrong, Ron?"

He seemed to just grow even more furious at the ebony-haired witch who was pretending to act innocent and confused, "Why'd you pair up with Malfoy in potions?! He's a Death Eater!"

That seemed to snap something inside of Ivy. She glared at the red-head, a furious spark in her eyes that quickly roared to life, though she still managed to say in an entirely calm, though still furious, voice, "Okay, that's it. You can insult me and shout at me all you want, but you do not insult others in front of me. Do you understand?"

Ron took a step back at the look in her eyes, though he still seemed to grow more and more angry, "So you're defending him now, are you?!" he screamed, and he tugged out his wand, pointing it at Ivy. Almost every student gasped at the action, and some prefects were even running off to find a professor. Ivy, however, somehow managed to remain calm. Hell, she just raised an eyebrow at the action.

"Go on then, Ron. Let's see you cursing me to oblivion – oh wait, that's just what a Death Eater would do, so if you'd like to not be insulted by ever other student in this castle, I'd suggest that you lower that wand," she innocently pointed to the wand that Ron was holding, not even bringing out her own.

"Oh, so you underestimate me, do you?!" he questioned her, not lowering his wand in the slightest. He just held on tighter, and most of the other students took out their own wands, though they hid them in case a professor showed up. If that would happen, they wanted Ron to be the only student with a wand out.

Ivy just roll her eyes at him, "Ron, I have never underestimated you. I'm just merely stating that you have not used any kind of spell at all so far."

His grip tightened once more, and he opened his mouth to say what was probably some curse, when Hermione, not wanting for Ivy to get hurt, interrupted him, "Ron! So Ivy paired with Malfoy, what's the big deal? She's alright now, isn't she?"

He growled and was about to repeat the spell he was about to cast when everyone heard a large booming voice, "Mr Weasley! Lower that wand!"

Ivy began to smirk (innocently, of course) as she recognised Professor McGonagall's furious voice echoing through the hallway. When everyone heard her, they quickly hid their wands once more before she saw them, and Ron, still furious at Ivy, and at being caught, forgot to do so.

"Alright, _what_ happened?!" she questioned as the students separated to let her pass, and she was soon standing next to Ivy, Hermione, and Ron. Hermione and Ivy were about to prove their innocence when Pansy spoke up.

"Uh, excuse me, Professor?" she spoke through the silence, and McGonagall nodded at her, and gestured for her to continue, clearly thinking that the Slytherin was just going to bad mouth the Gryffindors, so she was thoroughly surprised when Pansy continued, "Potter paired up with Draco in potions, and Weasley was shouting at her and threatening to use his wand against her. She did nothing wrong."

Slightly surprised that _Parkinson_ was the one defending Ivy, Professor McGonagall nodded in thanks and looked at Ron, "Mr Weasley, you _never_ cast harmful spells at another student, and though you did not cast any, you were clearly threatening to do so, which is unacceptable. You will serve detention with Professor Snape for three weeks and 50 points will be taken." Snape, who had showed up about half way through McGonagall's speech and saw how Ron had his wand out and Ivy was in the middle of the crowd, only nodded, and a vicious smirk settled on his face, making most shiver. Most of the Slytherins mainly, though Ivy rolled her eyes, shook her head fondly, and smirked herself.

Pansy, Theo, Blaise, and Draco were now certain that they had made the right choice in befriending Potter in the following year. Anyways, they had gained at least a part of her trust by defending her, though it was very obvious what Weasley was about to do. The crowd of students dispersed and left only the two professors, Ivy, Ron, Hermione, and Pansy too, her friends having gone to lunch.

Professor McGonagall handed a furious Ron over to Snape, who was most likely leading him to his classroom for the red-head's first detention. McGonagall then turned to the three girls and told them, "Miss Potter, 45 points will be given to Gryffindor for defending yourself without a wand. Most wizards and witches seem to forget that such a thing can be done," Ivy laughed and nodded in thanks, "Miss Granger, 10 points will be given for defending your friend, also without the use of magic." Hermione nodded proudly in thanks, "And Miss Parkinson, I did not expect that you would defend Miss Potter, but you have done exactly that, so I give you 50 points to Slytherin for turning against house stereotypes."

Pansy looked very surprised, but nodded in thanks anyway. Professor McGonagall then excused them and walked off somewhere.

Hermione, Ivy, and Pansy remained. "Soooooo, thanks for that, Pans," Ivy thanked, and she shot a finger gun at her.

The Slytherin still seemed to be in shock, not just of the sheer amount of points she had been given, but because of how Ivy was treating her. However, Hermione seemed to be surprised herself at the actions of her friend, "What?"

"Well, I'm just thanking her for doing that. Not everyone would, y'know," she responded with a shrug, and a smile as if she knew something they didn't. She was always so mysterious, be she was letting it out more recently. It was rather fun, Ivy discovered.

Pansy nodded, "No problem. Draco told us that you were being nice to him, so I thought I'd repay the favour."

Ivy nodded, "Well, tell him thanks for me, please?"

The Slytherin nodded. "I shall. Good day," she told them in a very sophisticated manner, that kind which most pure-bloods held.

Once it was just Ivy and Hermione left, the two walked to their dorm, perfectly intending to make the most of their free time. No one was in the common room; they were either at class or they were off doing something a lot more fun that studying, as it _was_ the last week of school, nothing interesting happens. Well, other than her fight with Ron, and her budding friendship with some of the Slytherins.

Hermione quickly rushed out a, "Goodbye, see you at class," before racing up to the dorms to read like a lunatic. Ivy sighed fondly and made her way to the Room of Requirement, wanting to find her Animagus form as soon as possible so she could try to transform.

Once she got there, she found herself in a comfy room that was pretty blank except for a few incredibly soft pillows on the ground. It was the perfect place for meditating, she found, and Ivy sat down and tried to discover her Animagus form. She felt the pumping of her magic through her very self, and that always seemed to calm her down and help her meditate. Soon, she was looking at… fire. What does that mean? Is she an animal that looks like fire? Or an animal with the word _'Fire'_ in its name?

She snapped out of her peaceful meditation – though she was starting to get frustrated – by a tapping on a window, which she didn't realise was there. She also didn't realise that the room could even form windows, real windows, that is.

Ivy stood up rapidly and raced towards the window and opened it to find Hedwig with a letter attached to her leg. Excited, Ivy tore it off and looked at the response of the Dark Lord:

 _Potter,_

 _How is it that for the majority of your life, you have the Dark Lord after you, and now you will  
soon have the Light Lord after you too. At least, that is if you want to join the side of the Dark  
any time soon. It is purely your choice, of course._

 _I was not expecting for you to despise Dumbledore so very much, though I certainly expected  
for you to not trust the old coot, as it was his actions that decided the fate of you godfather,  
Sirius Black, was it? Very sorry about that, by the way, and I apologise. I would like to see a list  
of his crimes against you. Perhaps you may even help me 'take him out' if you eventually decide  
to join my side._

 _Sincerely, the Dark Lord Voldemort_

It wasn't as long as hers, but it was still very long, and Ivy quickly made some parchment and a self-inking quill appear – though this time using the Room of Requirement instead of her own magic, as well as a table and a chair too. She quickly began scribbling onto the parchment with the response of all of the things that Dumbledore had done to her. She was very embarrassed at admitting the abuse of the Dursleys, but it was the Dark Lord, and he had been through similar things, she was sure. He couldn't have become the Dark Lord without a reason, and being evil just for the sake of being evil wasn't the reason, she could tell.

So, she was sure that he would understand. Hell, maybe he'd help her out and get her out of it! She'd really appreciate it.

Also, she was very much excited that Voldemort was okay with her becoming Dark. He even sounded excited about, as he was a lot more talkative this time, and slightly optimistic too, if that is possible for the Dark Lord. She only hoped that he was sane once more, but only time would tell.

She soon finished her letter, and she read over it once more:

 _Voldemort,_

 _You know, I've always wondered, is your name supposed to be French for 'Flight of Death'? Just  
curious, you know. And if so, have I been pronouncing it wrong? Sorry about that. Anyways, yes,  
Sirius Black was my godfather, and you don't need to apologise for all of that, it wasn't your fault.  
Anyways, I very much doubt he would have liked that I want to join the Dark side of the war very  
much. Though, perhaps, you're okay with it?_

 _You asked for a list of stupid stuff Dumbles did to me? You sure you want to see that thing? It's not  
exactly pleasant, but I guess, if you'd like to know, I might as well tell you._

 _First things first, when my parents died and you were gone, the old coot had a 'wonderful' idea to  
leave me with my aunt, uncle, and cousin: the Dursleys. They, uh, don't like magic all that much,  
so, yeah. They didn't give me much food, and they kept me locked in the little cupboard under the  
stairs for days at a time. It wasn't a big deal, it was my fault I did accidental magic, anyways, or else  
they wouldn't have hit me._

 _Okay, next thing was that I only found out that I was magical by the time I was eleven, a month before  
school began. I would have much preferred to not look like an idiot in front of all of the other wizards  
and witches who all knew about everything. They all expected me to understand everything about the  
magical world, and I sure didn't, so good going Dumbledork._

 _And then there was First Year. I truly believe that Dumbledore suspected Quirrell the whole time, and  
he did nothing to fire him! He just let him endanger me, and I almost died. I don't blame you for that.  
Well, not too much, but you were desperate. I understand that. But still, Dumbledore just let me risk  
my life because he was 'testing' me to see if I could become his gullible slave and if he could sacrifice  
me for the 'Greater Good', the barmy old man. I know that he wants me to die in the end. Everything  
he does is pointing to that._

 _In Second Year, your weird diary tried to open the Chamber of Secrets, and Dumbledore hired Lockhart. I  
mean… it was LOCKHART! Was he crazy! Oh wait, don't answer that, I don't want to even know, and I'm  
pretty sure I already know the answer. Still, they did nothing to save Ginny, and in the end, I had to do it  
myself. Dumbledore did that on purpose, another way to test me, I'm pretty sure._

 _In third year, he knew even Sirius' Animagus form, and he knew that Remus was a werewolf and he still  
hired him! Don't get me wrong, I knew that neither of them would ever hurt me, ever, but Dumbledore  
knew that Sirius was innocent, and he didn't ever say anything! Sure, there was no evidence at that  
time but he was Dumbledore! Everyone loves and respects him! Well, except for a select few individuals,  
and a good few more. I blame him fully for Sirius being thought of as a murderer. He never even had a  
trial! Dumbledore knew this, and did nothing! It was probably another way to test me, stupid git. Also,  
he knew about the curse on the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts. He should have guessed that  
the reason Remus wouldn't return the following year to would be about him being a werewolf, yet he sure  
didn't care enough to think of that before hiring him._

 _In Fourth Year, there was the Triwizard Tournament, and I was chosen against my will. Again, you were  
desperate so I won't hold it against you, but don't think I don't have nightmares! I was put up against  
furious mama dragons, murderous merpeople, and a great big maze which ended with… well, you were  
there. And Dumbledore just sat there and pretended that he couldn't do anything and that I had no choice.  
Of course I did! And he had the power to pull me out of it, as the magic from the Goblet of Fire that bonds  
you to the task connected to Barty Crouch Jr instead of me, as he was the one that actually put my name in.  
Dumbledore most likely knew that, and he lied to me! Once again, a way to test me and traumatise me for  
the rest of my life._

 _Then there was this year. I'm certain that there must have been SOMEONE who could have been hired for  
the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts other than freaking Umbridge! The monster had me writing lines  
in detentions, but instead of using ink, it used my blood, and it carved the words, 'I must not tell lies' onto my  
hand. It's there for life to, since I had so many detentions. Still, Dumbledore ignored me all year, when the old  
coot could have told me about the entire prophecy years ago and save me a lot of rampaging. I'm very much  
satisfied with the destruction caused in his office when Sirius died. He obviously doesn't know it, but that was  
just the beginning of my revenge._

 _So yeah, almost all of my Defence Against the Dark Arts professors have tried to kill me, the only one not to  
being… well, Lockhart, but he still sucks, and he tried to obliviate me so much that I could have forgotten my  
name. I just wish that for once I won't have a DADA professor that's trying to get me killed._

 _I'm so sorry that this letter is miles long, you've probably given up reading it by now, so yeah, sorry, but I need  
to rant about all of the horrible things that Dumbledora the explorer has done to me._

 _Could you, perhaps, let me go to wherever you're staying for the Summer a few days in to the holidays; I really  
don't want to stay with my relatives for any longer than I have to. _

_Thanks for reading this all, if you have, and if not, then oh well. At least I'll feel a whole lot less embarrassed  
about someone else finding out about all of this. Not even Hermione or Neville know about it, since they'll  
just look at me with pity, and I'm hoping that you won't. You don't seem like the kind of guy that would shoot  
pity looks at others._

 _Please get back to me soon,_

 _Love, Ivy Potter_

Ivy sighed as she finished writing that complete essay on Dumbledore's idiocy. Hermione would be so proud of her for the amount she wrote. If she actual knew, that is. Casting a quick wandless, "Tempus," and seeing that she had missed lunch. It was almost time for Transfiguration, since she had a free period after lunch, but it was almost over, anyway.

"Hedwig, I'm sorry this is so long, but I need you to take this to Tom, okay?" she asked softly while tying the long letter to her friend's leg. The snowy owl hooted back affectionately, and Ivy laughed at the tone of her hoot, "Is he that charming that you already like him that much?"

Hedwig nodded, and Ivy rolled her eyes. She continued to tie on the letter while mumbling under her breath, "Of course he is, he's Tom Marvolo Riddle, the most charming student this school has ever seen."

Her snowy owl seemed greatly amused by this, and once the letter was tied properly, Hedwig flew off, far into the horizon in the direction were Voldemort was probably located at. Maybe, she would be lucky enough that she would be there as well.

Ivy then stood up and rushed out of the Room of Requirement and to the Transfiguration classroom, where she was questioned by Hermione and Neville – who she was becoming closer to, now that Ron was being a prat – about where she had been, and where she was ignored by a fuming Ron.

 **A/N: Soooooo, the lengthy letter that Ivy sent to Tom about Dumbledore being an idiot is over 1000 words. I didn't believe it at first, but it** _ **is**_ **pretty long, isn't it?**

 **I'm enjoying these longer chapters. More things can happen and there's more of a storyline and friendships can be developed. Also, with the title of the chapter, the following chapter will be along the lines of** _ **'Letter N.5 and 6,'**_ **since Tom needs to read her letter as well, and I won't deny you all access to see him being furious and overly protective of Ivy.**

 **Enjoy!**


	5. Letter N5 and 6

_**Chapter 5:**_ _ **(3277 words)**_

It was about two in the afternoon, on Wednesday, that the Dark Lord spotted an approaching snowy owl in the distance. He dropped his glamour, and allowed Hedwig to land on an owl perch he had made appear with his wand for the owl. Nagini was in the room as well this time, as in the previous times, she was busy hunting. Tom hissed to his snake, **"Nagini, pleassse refrain from eating thisss owl."**

" **But whyyyyyyy!"** she whined, but he just rolled his eyes and repeated his words. Nagini then realised that there was no point arguing ( **"Ssstubborn humansss"** ) and she slithered over to his bed and positioned herself so that she was at the very edge of it, so she could see how her master and friend would react to this mystery person sending him a letter.

"Thank you, Hedwig," he stroked the owl's feathers, and she hooted with affection. She stuck out her leg and he removed the letter while whispering under his breath, "I wonder what Dumbles has done to Ivy," obviously not intending that Hedwig and Nagini would hear him. Hedwig seemed secretly delighted that he was saying her owner's name frequently now, and that he was calling the old manipulative man the nickname that Ivy used on him:

 _Voldemort,_

 _You know, I've always wondered, is your name supposed to be French for 'Flight of Death'? Just  
curious, you know. And if so, have I been pronouncing it wrong? Sorry about that. Anyways, yes,  
Sirius Black was my godfather, and you don't need to apologise for all of that, it wasn't your fault.  
Anyways, I very much doubt he would have liked that I want to join the Dark side of the war very  
much. Though, perhaps, you're okay with it?_

 _You asked for a list of stupid stuff Dumbles did to me? You sure you want to see that thing? It's not  
exactly pleasant, but I guess, if you'd like to know, I might as well tell you._

 _First things first, when my parents died and you were gone, the old coot had a 'wonderful' idea to  
leave me with my aunt, uncle, and cousin: the Dursleys. They, uh, don't like magic all that much,  
so, yeah. They didn't give me much food, and they kept me locked in the little cupboard under the  
stairs for days at a time. It wasn't a big deal, it was my fault I did accidental magic, anyways, or else  
they wouldn't have hit me._

 _Okay, next thing was that I only found out that I was magical by the time I was eleven, a month before  
school began. I would have much preferred to not look like an idiot in front of all of the other wizards  
and witches who all knew about everything. They all expected me to understand everything about the  
magical world, and I sure didn't, so good going Dumbledork._

 _And then there was First Year. I truly believe that Dumbledore suspected Quirrell the whole time, and  
he did nothing to fire him! He just let him endanger me, and I almost died. I don't blame you for that.  
Well, not too much, but you were desperate. I understand that. But still, Dumbledore just let me risk  
my life because he was 'testing' me to see if I could become his gullible slave and if he could sacrifice  
me for the 'Greater Good', the barmy old man. I know that he wants me to die in the end. Everything  
he does is pointing to that._

 _In Second Year, your weird diary tried to open the Chamber of Secrets, and Dumbledore hired Lockhart. I  
mean… it was LOCKHART! Was he crazy! Oh wait, don't answer that, I don't want to even know, and I'm  
pretty sure I already know the answer. Still, they did nothing to save Ginny, and in the end, I had to do it  
myself. Dumbledore did that on purpose, another way to test me, I'm pretty sure._

 _In third year, he knew even Sirius' Animagus form, and he knew that Remus was a werewolf and he still  
hired him! Don't get me wrong, I knew that neither of them would ever hurt me, ever, but Dumbledore  
knew that Sirius was innocent, and he didn't ever say anything! Sure, there was no evidence at that  
time but he was Dumbledore! Everyone loves and respects him! Well, except for a select few individuals,  
and a good few more. I blame him fully for Sirius being thought of as a murderer. He never even had a  
trial! Dumbledore knew this, and did nothing! It was probably another way to test me, stupid git. Also,  
he knew about the curse on the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts. He should have guessed that  
the reason Remus wouldn't return the following year to would be about him being a werewolf, yet he sure  
didn't care enough to think of that before hiring him._

 _In Fourth Year, there was the Triwizard Tournament, and I was chosen against my will. Again, you were  
desperate so I won't hold it against you, but don't think I don't have nightmares! I was put up against  
furious mama dragons, murderous merpeople, and a great big maze which ended with… well, you were  
there. And Dumbledore just sat there and pretended that he couldn't do anything and that I had no choice.  
Of course I did! And he had the power to pull me out of it, as the magic from the Goblet of Fire that bonds  
you to the task connected to Barty Crouch Jr instead of me, as he was the one that actually put my name in.  
Dumbledore most likely knew that, and he lied to me! Once again, a way to test me and traumatise me for  
the rest of my life._

 _Then there was this year. I'm certain that there must have been SOMEONE who could have been hired for  
the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts other than freaking Umbridge! The monster had me writing lines  
in detentions, but instead of using ink, it used my blood, and it carved the words, 'I must not tell lies' onto my  
hand. It's there for life to, since I had so many detentions. Still, Dumbledore ignored me all year, when the old  
coot could have told me about the entire prophecy years ago and save me a lot of rampaging. I'm very much  
satisfied with the destruction caused in his office when Sirius died. He obviously doesn't know it, but that was  
just the beginning of my revenge._

 _So yeah, almost all of my Defence Against the Dark Arts professors have tried to kill me, the only one not to  
being… well, Lockhart, but he still sucks, and he tried to obliviate me so much that I could have forgotten my  
name. I just wish that for once I won't have a DADA professor that's trying to get me killed._

 _I'm so sorry that this letter is miles long, you've probably given up reading it by now, so yeah, sorry, but I need  
to rant about all of the horrible things that Dumbledora the explorer has done to me._

 _Could you, perhaps, let me go to wherever you're staying for the Summer a few days in to the holidays; I really  
don't want to stay with my relatives for any longer than I have to. _

_Thanks for reading this all, if you have, and if not, then oh well. At least I'll feel a whole lot less embarrassed  
about someone else finding out about all of this. Not even Hermione or Neville know about it, since they'll  
just look at me with pity, and I'm hoping that you won't. You don't seem like the kind of guy that would shoot  
pity looks at others._

 _Please get back to me soon,_

 _Love, Ivy Potter_

Nagini, on the other hand, looked furious as her master's expression turned from concerned to murderous in a matter of minutes, **"Massster, who do I have to rip to shredsss?"** Tom looked to his snake, who had slithered off of his bed to directly in front of him on the ground. Hedwig hooted softly, almost in mourning, when she noticed that Tom had read the letter, knowing how Ivy was treated first hand since she had gone with her owner to the Dursleys every year since First Year.

" **Though I will likely ussse your help, I would much prefer to kill thessse worthlessssss mugglesss myssself,"** he told his snake.

Nagini just looked confused, **"But Massster, I thought that you didn't hate non-magic usssersss anymore."**

He nodded, **"That'sss true, but thessse mugglesss are dessspicable!"**

" **What isss in the letter? Who are you writing to, Massster?"** she asked protectively, thinking that it was the sender of the letter who was making her master so upset and angry. She hardly ever saw him become so furious, and she cared very much about her master and long-time friend.

" **I am corresssponding to a ssstudent from Hogwartsss who hasss been abusssed by worthlessssss mugglesss like me, and I would merely like to help them, isss all,"** he explained rather vaguely, and Nagini knew it.

" **Who isss it, Massster?"** she asked curiously, **"You would hardly ever do that jussst for sssomeone elssse."**

He looked at her, and saw that she was just as angry at him at those worthless muggles. She was the only one who knew about his abuse, and she despised abuse, just like him, so it made sense that she felt protective over him and this student, **"It'sss Ivy Potter."**

" **Wait,"** she stopped suddenly, **"Potter? The one you were trying to kill for yearsss isss being abusssed by non-magic usssersss and isss sssending you lettersss?"**

Tom laughed at her expression, **"Don't worry, Nagini. Ivy wishesss to join our ssside."**

" **The main leader of the Light… wantsss to join you,"** Nagini seemed gobsmacked, and if she was a human, her jaw would be on the floor at this point. Tom nodded, and explained everything that had happened with Potter and the letters for the following two days, since he had forgotten to inform his familiar of everything. He had been very busy lately with planning for the following year, and with what to do about Ivy, that he had forgotten to tell Nagini.

After telling her everything, she seemed understanding and told him, **"Go on and ressspond to that letter! Then hold the Death Eater meeting, you need to tell everyone your plan."**

He nodded and she slithered away, probably to hunt somewhere, as she only ate incredibly small amounts the previous couple of days. Tom sat down at his desk and began to write a short letter to Ivy to inform her of a small part of his plan. He wasn't going to tell her everything, of course, because first of all, she could just be lying about everything and playing him, though he highly doubted it, and second of all, it was a surprise, mainly for everyone, but an extra special one for her, he thought:

 _Dear Ivy,_

 _I must say, I wasn't sure if you would like to join the Dark side of the war, so I am pleasantly  
surprised. I am against all kinds of abuse, so don't think I'll be leaving you there. I have decided  
that you may spend your Summer at my current headquarters. I will only tell you where it is once  
you have arrived, for safety reasons. I won't allow any of my followers to harm you, and you may  
wear a glamour should you wish to explore or converse with them._

 _You must go to your relatives at first, just so Dumbledore doesn't notice anything suspicious, and the  
second you reach your muggle house, I will pick you up, alone. That way, all of your things are packed  
already, and your relatives can't lay a finger on since you'll be gone before they have the chance._

 _I can't believe the amount of crimes Dumbledore has committed against you. To think, he is your own  
headmaster and he has you risking your life every single year. And I apologise for what he has put you  
through, but I have good news on that aspect: you will not be taught by an incompetent professor come  
the following school year. I'll make sure of it._

 _I will not tell you who it is, or else it won't be a surprise, now will it?_

 _If you are agreeable with staying over at my headquarters for the Summer, then please send a quick  
reply tomorrow, as I have business today. I will not tell a single soul of your arrival, in case they try  
anything. _

_Also, to respond to your first point, it is true that 'Voldemort' is French for 'Flight of Death', and that  
everyone who is brave enough to speak it pronounces it wrong. A truly despicable crime, I must admit._

 _So, if you are alright with this arrangement, I shall see you come Friday afternoon._

 _Love, Tom Riddle_

He didn't mean for it to get so long, but he found that he rather enjoyed corresponding with Ivy, and he was ranting just as much as her. Still, he had no idea what he was doing. Tom was running off of pure fury at those abusive muggles, but he was attempting to calm down. He didn't know why he wrote the things he did: why he wrote, _'Ivy,'_ instead of, _'Potter,'_ or, _'Love,'_ instead of, _'Sincerely,'_ or _'Tom Riddle,'_ his name, instead of, _'Voldemort'._ Perhaps he was finally going crazy once more… but he felt fine, and for some reason, he truly meant the things he had written.

Oh well, he wasn't going to change it all now, so he called Hedwig over with a, "Here's my letter, Hedwig. It's for Ivy."

Hedwig hooted teasingly, and Tom rolled his eyes at the tone of her hoot, _'Of course Ivy would have an owl as sassy as her.'_

Once the letter was safely tied onto the snowy owl's leg, Hedwig flew off, back to Hogwarts to give Ivy his letter. Tom, waving his wand, placed the glamour of the weird snake-human hybrid once more and walked to the large hall where meetings were held. He called for Wormtail who came rushing into the room in fear of being Crucio-ed. Sometimes, Tom really did wish he could Crucio Wormtail for the rest of his life.

Using the Dark Mark on Wormtail's arm, Voldemort called for a Death Eater meeting. Luckily, every single one of his Death Eaters were here, and on time to. They bowed when he stood from his throne, and Voldemort sat back down. They all rose once more, and he told them, "First things first, we will have a guest over the Summer. None of you will do a single thing to them, or else there _will_ be consequences. They will be wearing a glamour, as they wished for their identity to remain hidden. I alone know who they are, understood?"

All of the Death Eaters nodded as one, and Voldemort dismissed all of them who aren't in his inner circle. All that remained was Bellatrix, Lucius, Narcissa (she wasn't marked, though she was still faithful), Severus, Rabastan, Rodolphus, and Fenrir Greyback.

"I wish to become a professor at Hogwarts, to keep an eye on the Darker students, and Dumbledore too," he told them, who looked like they wanted to protest but were afraid of getting punished. Merlin, Ivy must be rubbing off on him since he told them, "Severus, this is not because I don't think that you are incompetent, but because the task is too much for one man. I would like to hear all of your thoughts on this plan."

They looked surprised at the suggestion, but nodded, and Greyback told him, "Isn't that a big risk? They could discover you."

Voldemort nodded, having thought of that already, "That is true, and I could send one of you to do so, but I am actually curious to see the students of Hogwarts myself."

Greyback nodded, and Bellatrix spoke up, "But my Lord, you can do that after you've defeated the Light!"

"Yes, but that will not happen for a year at the very least, and realistically speaking, it will take longer than that," he told Bellatrix. She had cured her insanity along with the Dark Lord as Narcissa, her sister, was a mind healer, and she helped her get through the insanity. Bellatrix was now a loyal servant, just like the others, but not insane or obsessed with the Dark Lord. Snape was purely on the Dark side of the war, one hundred percent against Dumbledore and his meddling ways. He remembered Ivy and smirked, "Perhaps our guest will help with taking over Hogwarts."

Snape raised an eyebrow, "Is this a student, my Lord?"

Voldemort looked amused at the question, "Yes, but remember, their identity will remain hidden."

"Is it from a pureblood family, my Lord? I can't imagine someone on the Light side of the war would wish to come to the Dark Lord's headquarters," pondered Rodolphus thoughtfully, and Voldemort looked even more amused at this than before.

"You will only find out if our guest wishes to reveal themself," Voldemort told them all. "Where is the best place for them to stay?"

"Perhaps in the bedroom opposite Draco's room?" Narcissa suggested, and Lucius nodded.

"That is suitable," Voldemort told her, "Is there anything of importance that I should know?"

"Dumbledore has not suspected me at all, but he hasn't really planned anything. Just to get _Potter_ ," Snape spat the name as if it was an insult, and the Dark Lord looked amused once more, "to her relatives, and for the aurors to stay alert of any activity from us."

Voldemort nodded, and asked, "Anything else?"

"Well, the werewolves are still fully supporting you, so no, nothing new," Greyback reported, and Voldemort nodded. The rest of them said that there was nothing new to report, and he let them all go. Only Narcissa remained and once the others had left – Lucius rather reluctantly since his wife was going to speak to the Dark Lord alone – she walked up to the Dark Lord.

"My Lord? I would like to decorate the room of our guest, and I would like to know if they had a favourite colour, or what sex they are?" she asked.

Voldemort nodded slowly after a moment, "You will know their sex when they come anyway, and their favourite colour won't reveal their identity." He thought for a moment, since he didn't really know what Ivy's favourite colour was, but he just responded with, "She's a female, and she doesn't have a favourite colour, though green would be best."

"Is she a Slytherin?" she asked raising an amused eyebrow.

"No," he answered and Narcissa smirked at the thought of having a non-Slytherin in the manor with a green bedroom. Lucius would go crazy! For the first part, at least. She thanked him and went to tell the house elves about how to decorate the room for the mystery guest.

Voldemort sighed and wondered what he was going to do with Ivy in his headquarters for two months. It was a rather long time to be with someone you used to try to kill in the past. It would be pretty awkward, but at least Ivy won't be getting abused by those muggles, and he could heal her too. Who knew how much Ivy was sugar coating the Dursleys' treatment?!

But he knew one thing, Ivy was getting out of that house.

 **A/N: No scenes at Hogwarts in this chapter, but it's still very long, and the past two chapters have been focused a lot on Ivy, so I thought I should give Tom some screen time. Also, this chapter was to introduce the main Death Eater characters. I'm sure that there would be more in the Inner circle, so let's just say that this is the inner inner circle of Voldemort.**

 **It's still the Wednesday in the story, and Ivy will be going over to Malfoy Manor on the Friday, so I won't be too long of a wait.**

 **That's all, so enjoy!**


	6. Letter N6 and 7

_**Chapter 6:**_ _ **(3586 words)**_

"I can't believe that bloody git!" complained Hermione after Transfigurations. Ron had kept trying to sabotage their work by distracting them, and it was really annoying, but Ivy had hardly ever heard Hermione swear.

"Woah, 'Mione, I know Ron's being an idiot, but you never swear," Ivy told her friend as the two flopped down onto their respective beds.

"I'm sorry. It's just… you've gotten hurt so many times, and I just can't imagine Ron adding onto all of that himself after everything we've been through," Hermione mumbled through her pillow, and Ivy nodded, not realising that Hermione couldn't see her.

"Hey… 'Mione?" Ivy asked her friend, trying to get their minds off of their shattering friendship with the red-head.

"Yeah," she questioned, turning her body to face Ivy, both of them lying on their beds, exhausted after fighting with Ron. Hermione was trying to forget about the day as well, so she listened to what Ivy was about to say.

"I… I don't really trust the Light side anymore," she mumbled, but Hermione heard anyway.

Ivy expected for Hermione to gasp and tell her why not to do that, or for Hermione to take her straight to the aurors to get sent to Azkaban, but she didn't expect the bushy-haired witch to nod and whisper, "I don't either." At Ivy's surprised expression, she continued, "You're my best friend, and the Light has been horrible to you so many times, Dumbledore's willing to use you as a sacrificial sheep, and Ron… well, Ron isn't our friend anymore."

Ivy sat up and walked over to Hermione's bed. She sat down as Hermione sat up, and the two hugged, both very upset with the Light side, "What if… what if we joined the Dark side of the war?"

"Ivy!" Hermione whisper-shouted. When she saw how serious the ebony-haired witch was being, Hermione sighed and mumbled, "I don't support the Light anymore, so I guess that means that I don't have a choice?"

"Of course you have a choice!" Ivy told her friend, "It's just… well, you know that person I was writing a letter to? Earlier today?"

"Yeah…" Hermione answered suspiciously.

Ivy rolled her eyes at the tone of her friend's voice and told her, "It was to Voldemort."

Silence.

"Seriously?" Hermione mumbled, and Ivy slowly nodded her head. Hermione groaned, but nodded and asked, "What were you talking about?"

"Well, at first it was kind of to spite Dumbledore, but Tom's always been so nice, and Hedwig certainly likes him!" Ivy grinned at her friend, who had facepalmed at the last point Ivy gave to the reasons she had begun corresponding to the Dark Lord.

"And let me guess," Hermione mumbled to Ivy, "Hedwig told you?"

"Yup!" Ivy laughed. Hermione just groaned some more, "Aw, c'mon, 'Mione! You can tell by the tone of her hoots that she's very affectionate towards Tom."

"Oh, are you on a first name basis already?" Hermione placed her hand away from her face, smirked, and raised an eyebrow.

Ivy rolled her eyes, but Hermione could tell that she was slightly flustered from the blush in her cheeks. Hermione totally pointed this out, happy to playfully rile up her closest friend, "'Mione! Ugh, you wouldn't understand, he's really nice and sweet and he cares about me unlike every other adult in the whole world and-"

Ivy looked rather distressed, and almost in tears, so Hermione stopped teasing her and gave her a hug, "You're right, I don't understand. What about Sirius, and Remus? Can you explain it to me? I'll listen to you."

The ebony-haired girl stopped the hug and pulled away. She began to explain, "Well, I always see Moony and Padfoot as over-grown children, though Padfoot more than Moony. I mean a _responsible_ adult, not that Moony isn't responsible, it's just-"

And then Hedwig flew in (there was an open window). "Hedwig!" Ivy looked at the sender and grinned, "Tom! 'Mione! It's a letter from Tom!"

Hermione giggled, and Hedwig gave Ivy a teasing hoot, "Oooh, now I get it. She's teasing you about how you're totally blushing, right?"

Ivy looked flushed and betrayed, but nodded after a few seconds and unrolled the letter to see what Tom had written. Hermione and Hedwig saw Ivy's cheeks get redder and redder the further down she got. Eventually, she finished the letter, and something at the end made her blush brightly, even more so than before. Ivy saw Hermione smirked and groaned before giving the letter to Hermione:

 _Dear Ivy,_

 _I must say, I wasn't sure if you would like to join the Dark side of the war, so I am pleasantly  
surprised. I am against all kinds of abuse, so don't think I'll be leaving you there. I have decided  
that you may spend your Summer at my current headquarters. I will only tell you where it is once  
you have arrived, for safety reasons. I won't allow any of my followers to harm you, and you may  
wear a glamour should you wish to explore or converse with them._

 _You must go to your relatives at first, just so Dumbledore doesn't notice anything suspicious, and the  
second you reach your muggle house, I will pick you up, alone. That way, all of your things are packed  
already, and your relatives can't lay a finger on since you'll be gone before they have the chance._

 _I can't believe the amount of crimes Dumbledore has committed against you. To think, he is your own  
headmaster and he has you risking your life every single year. And I apologise for what he has put you  
through, but I have good news on that aspect: you will not be taught by an incompetent professor come  
the following school year. I'll make sure of it._

 _I will not tell you who it is, or else it won't be a surprise, now will it?_

 _If you are agreeable with staying over at my headquarters for the Summer, then please send a quick  
reply tomorrow, as I have business today. I will not tell a single soul of your arrival, in case they try  
anything. _

_Also, to respond to your first point, it is true that 'Voldemort' is French for 'Flight of Death', and that  
everyone who is brave enough to speak it pronounces it wrong. A truly despicable crime, I must admit._

 _So, if you are alright with this arrangement, I shall see you come Friday afternoon._

 _Love, Tom Riddle_

"Oooh, so the Dark Lord of the age likes you back," Hermione smirked. Ivy blushed and stuttered out that it wasn't true but Hermione totally ignored her and continued with, "And really! You're going to spend the Summer at the Dark Lord's headquarters?"

Ivy nodded guiltily at the question after a few seconds, but she was still smiling since Tom had been so informal at the greeting and finalities, which meant that they were friends? At least they weren't killing each other anymore. Hermione saw how happy her friend was (Ivy was way too overwhelmed to think of hiding her relief and happiness. Anyways, she was with someone she trusts) and asked softly, "You really care about him, don't you? And he cares about you?"

Nodding once more, Ivy let out a large sigh and made some parchment and a self-inking quill appear wandlessly and wordlessly, much to Hermione's surprise and awe, "You can do wandless magic?! And wordless magic at the same time?!"

Ivy laughed and nodded, "Yes, but I don't want anyone to know: it's just another reason for people to worship me." She said this with a lot of venom, though Hermione was already well acquainted with Ivy's hatred of her fame.

Hermione nodded, "Okay, I won't tell anyone. But why did you tell me?"

"Because I trust you," Ivy told her friend in a small voice, and Hermione smiled sweetly, knowing how hard that was for her friend and the two hugged again.

"I trust you too," Hermione assured her once they broke apart. "Also," she began, "we're actually having a competent Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?" Ivy began giggling as she nodded her head, and Hermione continued, "I don't think I'll know what to do in a situation like that!"

Ivy burst out laughing at that, and her infectious giggles had Hermione quickly joining in. After a while, when Ivy had begun writing the letter she would send to Tom to confirm their plan, and had calmed down from all of the laughing (though there was still an occasional giggle), she responded to Hermione, "We had Moony, though. He was nice, and a great teacher. Anyways, if we _do_ have _another_ competent professor in DADA, you'll just strut your stuff, and by 'stuff', I mean your brilliant brain."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the response, "Honestly, how did you not get into Slytherin with a mind like yours. And your smirk is practically identical to Malfoy's!" The two friends just burst into giggles again. Once they had calmed down, Hermione saw that Ivy had just finished writing her response to the Dark Lord, "Hey, what me to proof-read it?"

Smiling gratefully at her friend, Ivy nodded and passed the letter to Hermione:

 _Dear Tom,_

 _What's this? Using my first name now, are we? Very well, but only if I can use 'Tom'. Got  
that?_

 _On a more exciting note, of course I'm coming to your headquarters during the Summer  
holidays! Just imagine how Malfoy will react when he sees me in his manor at the same  
time as the Dark Lord. Oh, I can't wait! And yes, I already know where it is, and yes, this  
piece of parchment has spells that only let the people I choose to read it. Only me, you, and  
Hermione Granger, my best-friend, are keyed into this letter, so don't worry!_

 _Hermione has expressed that she would like to join your side, and I wanted to ask if that's  
okay. She's a muggleborn, but almost as smart was you were at school, and even you have  
to admit that such a thing is one hell of an achievement. Also, Hermione has the nice kind of  
muggle parents that understand and all of that._

 _See you this Summer!_

 _Love, Ivy Potter_

"You put _'Love'_ as well?" Hermione asked teasingly to Ivy, who blushed in response.

"I put _'Love'_ in every letter I sent him, but that was the first time he did it," the ebony-haired girl explained to her friend, and Hermione nodded in understanding. Ivy called for Hedwig lovingly, and she rolled up the letter and secured it so that it wouldn't fall, "Go on, Hedwig. It's for Tom."

The owl hooted affectionately, and with Hermione's, "Oh!" in the background, the snowy owl faded into the still very bright sky.

After a few moments silence, since the two were now busy reading (Ivy was reading a potions book and Hermione was reading the Parseltongue healing magic book, though only the English part, of course), Hermione spoke up. "Want to go and eat something? We've been here for hours, it's almost time for dinner," suggested the bushy-haired witch, and Ivy nodded in agreement, though her stomach rumbling at the mention of food was enough inclination. "C'mon then," Hermione told her, and she helped Ivy get up.

Ivy stretched once she stood up; it hurts to be in the same position for hours and hours. As the two had no more lessons that day, they left their school bags in their dorm room, and they made their way to the Great Hall. On the way there, in a quiet corridor, Ivy asked Hermione, "Should we sit at the Slytherin table just for the LOLs or do we be unsuspicious and sit at the Gryffindor table?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ivy's choice of words but soon responded, after a moment of thought, with, "You'll can sit at the Slytherin table, since your… kind of friends with some of them. I'll sit in Gryffindor so that if I _do_ end up joining… You-Know-What… no one will suspect me. You are kind of known for doing crazy things that no one would think you would do, and sitting at the Slytherin table is definitely one of them."

Ivy nodded in thanks, "That… would work wonderfully, 'Mione. See," she nudged her friend, "this is why Tom is totally going to be fine with you joining his cause!"

Sighing at Ivy's hyper activity, Hermione only nodded tiredly, unable to jump about and skip everywhere like her friend was doing after sitting still for a few hours, "How do you even have the energy to do that?"

"Hmm?" Ivy looked confused, but then she went, "Oh!" and answered her friend with, "I don't know, actually. After going through everything I did, as well as Quidditch practice, I have one badass stamina?"

Hermione could only nod and eventually the two made it to the door of the Great Hall. Peeking in, Hermione told Ivy, "It's practically empty, since dinner only just started, but it should start to fill up at an incredibly fast pace. Pansy is there with Zabini, if you'd like to sit there."

"Nah, I want to make a scene," Ivy announced in a whisper so no one would know she was there, and then the ebony-haired girl dragged Hermione to behind some pillars so no one would see them. That way, when the Great Hall was more filled, everyone would think she was crazy. Of course, Ivy despised that, but if she was already there, they would think that she was being held captive, instead of just being crazy, and she didn't want her friends getting hurt. At least, that was her logic.

Eventually, after Ivy had deemed enough students had passed their hiding spot, she and Hermione walked through the doors to the Great Hall, when Hermione walked over to the Gryffindor table while rolling her eyes fondly.

Only Neville, and Ivy's friends from Slytherin noticed that little action. So, when Hermione sat down next to Neville instead of Ron, the timid boy asked her about it. Hermione could only point at Ivy, who was confidently making her way to the Slytherin table, easily ignoring all of the staring eyes, hushed whispers, and pointing fingers after so much practice.

Ivy sat down in between Pansy and Draco, and asked, "So, what's up?"

There was only a moment of silence before the hushed whispers grew louder, but Ivy only ignored them with practiced ease. Pansy, along with Draco, Blaise, and Theo, blinked at the question before the platinum blond responded with, "Just peachy."

"That's nice," Ivy commented casually, and the other four just shared glances at the girl, "I've had a horrid day, but it's gotten much better, so at least that happened."

"Why was your day so bad?" asked Blaise, not thinking that they would befriend Potter so easily. Also, he wanted to know; he was always so curious. Draco and Pansy nodded in their weirdly elegant pureblood style, and Theo just rolled his eyes with a smirk and began reading some book on ancient Egypt.

"Well, I don't know," she shrugged thoughtfully, "Ron's being a right git lately, though."

The other four nodded at the words. Even Theo nodded from behind the book he was reading. Pansy then asked, "How did it get any better then?"

Ivy could only smirk, "You'll see soon enough, Pans. Over the Summer, I'm sure." The others exchanged glances again before looking away quickly when Ivy muttered, "I _can_ see you giving each other looks, you know."

Oh, she was so excited for Friday, and for once in her life, the Summer!

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

It was nearing midnight but Tom was still awake. His beautiful snake, Nagini, was draped across his lap, sleeping lazily over him, and to that he could only roll his eyes. He had destroyed all of his horcruxes when he had returned to a body, not wanting to go through that again. His diary, apparently already destroyed (he hadn't spoken to Lucius yet, but he had more important things to worry about), his locket, his ring, Hufflepuff's goblet, Ravenclaw's diadem, and finally, his beautiful Nagini.

He had removed the piece of soul from all of them, baring the diary (the soul piece had returned to him when it was destroyed), but he still felt the slightest part incomplete. Did he make another horcrux and he just couldn't remember? Or was it something else?

Tom didn't know, but all he did know was that he was afraid that Ivy was going to refuse to come to his headquarters for some reason. But that's just silly, is it not? She despises her relatives, and if the only way to escape them is to go to the Dark Lord's headquarters. Then again, what if she had another option to choose from, then she would never choose to come here!

Why did he even care about what she thought anyway?

Sure, she was a useful tool to use against Dumbledore and the Light side of the war, but she was also an interesting person to talk to. He hardly ever finds someone like that, like the people that are a part of his inner inner circle, but Ivy was _the_ most interesting person he had ever had the pleasure of speaking with, and he had only ever tried killing her whenever they met face to face.

' _Not this time,'_ he promised himself, and he meant it. He didn't want to lose this interesting person, whether it be the Girl-Who-Lived or some blasted muggle.

"Hedwig!" he could almost cry when he saw the snowy white owl belonging to the person he had just been thinking about flew in through the open window, "Hedwig! Is that from Ivy?! Did she agree to coming over?!"

The ruddy owl just hooted teasingly and settled in front of the Dark Lord before sticking out her leg. Tom practically ripped it off Hedwig's leg before rolling it open and reading it rapidly while stroking Nagini, who was still draped along his lap:

 _Dear Tom,_

 _What's this? Using my first name now, are we? Very well, but only if I can call you 'Tom',  
okay? Got that?_

 _On a more exciting note, of course I'm coming to your headquarters during the Summer  
holidays! Just imagine how Malfoy will react when he sees me in his manor at the same  
time as the Dark Lord. Oh, I can't wait! And yes, I already know where it is, and yes, this  
piece of parchment has spells that only let the people I choose to read it. Only me, you, and  
Hermione Granger, my best-friend, are keyed into this letter, so don't worry!_

 _Hermione has expressed that she would like to join your side, and I wanted to ask if that's  
okay. She's a muggleborn, but almost as smart was you were at school, and even you have  
to admit that such a thing is one hell of an achievement. Also, Hermione has the nice kind of  
muggle parents that understand and all._

 _See you this Summer!_

 _Love, Ivy Potter_

Letting out one long breath of relief, Tom rolled up the letter once more and placed it inside a drawer by his bed, where he kept all of his letters from Ivy. It was the fourth one now, though there won't be any more soon since she will be here, so there is no need to send letters to each other.

How did that girl always know things that she shouldn't? It was incredibly confusing, but at least that was one less thing to tell Ivy.

He _was_ so very tempted to tell the youngest Malfoy, but if he was being honest, he wanted to see the boy's reaction to the Girl-Who-Lived being in the same house as the Dark Lord just as much as Ivy did.

And that's another thing: will they call each other that in front of others? She would obviously have a different name if she didn't want to reveal herself to anyone yet, but still, it was a big deal. He hated his muggle father's name, but maybe, if Ivy used it, it wouldn't be so bad? It was a very unusual thought, yet, he couldn't help but know that it was true.

Oh, he couldn't wait for Friday, and the Summer. "Sorry, Hedwig. Ivy doesn't need a letter to know that I read her one, does she?"

Still, Hedwig pecking him to an early death isn't something he was looking forward to.

"Okay, okay! I'll start writing one now, see!" he practically screeched at the owl, much like an owl would. He then waved a hand silently and created some parchment and a quill, and he quickly began writing a quick letter to send to Ivy.

He placed it on his bedside table and he slowly shifted so that Nagini was lying down at the foot of his bed on a warming charm so that he could lie down himself.

"Get some rest, Hedwig," he mumbled sleepily from his bed, "I'll send it tomorrow."

The owl in question hooted once and flew over to the stand for her, and she quickly fell asleep. Once Tom felt that everyone was asleep around him, he quickly fell himself into the depths of unconsciousness. In his dreams, he dreamt of how incredible the following Summer would be, and how he would officially meet a certain ebony-haired and Avada-Kedavra-green-eyed girl.

 **A/N: I don't know why I made Tom so sweet and lovey-dovey. He's the Dark Lord! He's not going to change overnight! Yet, the power of love can do that to people (cheesy, I know).**

 **Still, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The following one will be of what happens on Thursday, and then on Friday in the following chapter after that. I think the one after that will be the end of Friday, when Tom goes to get Ivy from the Dursleys. That's a super quick summary of what happens in the following three chapters, but I guess I can be excused since I haven't written them yet.**

 **Enjoy!**


	7. Letter N8

_**Chapter 7:**_ _ **(3132 words)**_

Tom woke up to the hoots of a snowy white owl and the hisses of a near-black snake.

It was rather distracting, and once he was aware of the two different noises, he couldn't return to sleep. "Quiet it down, would you?" he ordered to the two animals, who silenced immediately. Tom sat up on his bed and looked to his bedside table, where a sheet of parchment lay. He remembered that it was the letter that he was going to send to Ivy once he woke up. Looking out of the window, he saw that it was just barely dawn, and he picked up the letter to read once more:

 _Dear Ivy,_

 _I guess I have no choice but to permit you to call me such a muggle name. It will make a fun  
afternoon to see my Death Eaters react to you calling me by my name._

 _That is perfect. The plan is for you to board the train, return to your muggle relatives' house,  
and then I shall arrive at eight in the evening to… tell your relatives where you shall stay for  
the Summer._

 _I have informed all of my Death Eaters to treat you with the utmost respect, tough they have no  
clue who you are. I have a ring that you can use as a glamour. I will explain it more tomorrow.  
There is no need to send a reply as we will be seeing each other tomorrow anyway. I shall see you  
on Friday, Ivy,_

 _Love, Tom Riddle_

Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he called, "Here, Hedwig."

The snowy owl flew from her perch by the window to the bedside table. She was trying to not be too rough with the ancient woodwork of the furniture. _'The Malfoys really do go all out, huh?'_ Anyways, he tied the short letter to Hedwig and then told the snowy owl, "It's for Ivy."

Hedwig hooted.

Tom nodded at the response, and the snowy owl took off from the bedside table, minding the delicate woodwork, not wanting to ruin the expensive table. The Dark Lord got up, needing to check if Ivy's room was ready, as well as needing to find the ancient artefact of Slytherin, a ring that can work as a glamour if a keyword spoken in Parseltongue is spoken.

First things first, he dressed in his everyday black robes, and he placed on the glamour that made him appear like a snake-human hybrid, before walking at a speedy pace to the dining room, where Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Lucius sat, eating an expensive breakfast that Tom did not care to know the name of. Not with other things on his mind. "Narcissa," he interrupted, "may I speak to you, for a moment?"

The woman in question nodded, and went to get up, though not before her husband gave her a comforting squeeze on her arm as he was afraid of why the Dark Lord wished to speak to his beloved wife. Bellatrix trusted her Lord to not harm her younger sister, though she still feared for Narcissa, as a sister would.

Tom and Narcissa made their way to the hallway where Draco's room was located in, and once they reached their destination, Tom asked Narcissa, "Have you fixed up the room for our guest yet?"

Narcissa nodded, "Yes, my Lord. With touches of green, as you suggested."

"Thank you, Narcissa. That is all," he dismissed the woman, who nodded and made her way back to the dining hall. It always made Tom smile when all of the female Death Eaters weren't afraid of him as much as the male ones. He tried to make it equal, but the women were hardly ever intimidated by him, unlike the paranoid male ones. Tom walked into what would be Ivy's room, and he saw that green really would complement her eye colour very well. He never forgot the shade of her Avada Kedavra green eyes, as they were the last thing he saw before he disappeared about fourteen to fifteen years ago. They almost seemed to glow, if he remembered correctly, and he found that he was rather looking forward to the following day, when he would be able to meet Ivy Alice Potter properly, without either of them trying to kill each other.

"Perfect," he muttered, and he swept out of the room, making his way to the room where the Malfoys hid their artefacts, where he hoped there would be a little silver ring with an emerald glimmering on the top, with an engraved picture of the Slytherin snake.

It was for Ivy, and for her safety, which he found he rather cared about, much to his surprise.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

"Hey, Neville," Ivy greeted once she and Hermione reached the Gryffindor common rooms from the dorms. She might be a snake at heart but she would always love this place. Neville was sitting in one of the armchairs, and Hermione went to sit in the one next to him, where she started to read the Parseltongue healing magic book so that she could finish the English part in time for Ivy to take it with her.

Neville, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and the twins were the only people in Gryffindor she could call her friends. The others either hated her, felt indifferent towards her, or treated her like a God. She didn't particularly like any of those, though she could deal with indifference, so she was grateful that she had six friends in Gryffindor that she could count on.

Hermione was the only person who knew about her correspondence with the Dark Lord, and she felt like she owed it to the other five to tell them. She might as well start with Neville. "Hey," she began, gathering Neville's attention. She and Hermione would tell the others later today, but she wanted to see how Neville would react first, "Can we go to the Room of Requirement? I need to tell you something. 'Mione, can you come too?"

The bushy-haired witch was already seeing where Ivy was going with this, and nodded while packing away her book into her school bag.

The three friends exited the common room and made their way to the Room of Requirement. It was around half six in the morning, still too early for breakfast to be ready, but not too early enough to get points taken off by leaving the common rooms.

Once they reached the Room of Requirement, Ivy thought of a comfortable room where three friends could talk to each other. She pushed open the newly materialising door and saw a room that reminded her of the Gryffindor common room with three chairs, but instead of red and gold, one chair was Slytherin green, the second chair was Ravenclaw blue, and the other chair was Hufflepuff yellow. Were all of them in the wrong house? "I call dibs on the Slytherin chair!" she shouted and raced to the beautiful green chair, and she dive-bombed onto it so that she was lying rather crazily on it as the other two rolled their eyes and walked calmly to the other chairs, Hermione taking the blue chair and Neville taking the yellow one.

"I wasn't expecting you to take the Slytherin chair, Ivy," Neville commented, and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Well, I love the colour green, and Slytherin's awesome," Ivy smiled at her surprised friends, "This actually ties in to why I brought you here."

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Neville asked timidly, and Ivy smiled comfortingly at him, as Hermione patted his shoulder supportively.

"Well, first of all, I don't trust Dumbledore, the Ministry, or the Light side of the war anymore," Ivy started off, and Neville's reaction was much like Hermione's really.

"Really?" his eyes widened, "I thought I was the only one who thought that way."

"Nope," Ivy grinned at him, and Hermione smiled brilliantly as well, "Me and 'Mione feel the same way!"

"That's great, good to know I'm not alone," Neville responded, and the two girls nodded in agreement. Ivy cleared her throat nervously, unsure as to how Neville was going to react to the information.

"Also, I've been writing letters to the Dark Lord," she began calmly, and Neville took in a sharp breath. Ivy chose to continue, "He's super understanding and nice, and he's letting me stay at his headquarters so that I don't have to go back to my abusive muggle relatives."

"So, I thought right?" Neville whispered after a couple minutes of silence, shock and disgust and fear all written into his face, and Ivy nodded. "Those horrible muggles!"

Hermione nodded sadly, "Yes, and Riddle's the only adult in the universe to have some common sense-"

"-other than Moony," Ivy interrupted, and Hermione laughed and nodded.

"Yes, other than Moony."

"Who's Moony?" asked Neville, and Hermione filled Neville in while Ivy was distracted with the window that had just formed behind Hermione and Neville. She saw Hedwig with a letter in her talons. Ivy quickly rose and ran to the window, before tugging it open and taking the letter off of Hedwig while the Room formed a stand for Hedwig to take a break.

"Is it the Dark Lord?" Neville whispered fearfully, and Hermione nodded, Ivy too busy to answer.

"Yes, he's surprisingly polite," Hermione responded, and Ivy grinned after quickly reading the letter, "So? What did he say?"

"He's just telling me the plan for getting to his headquarters," she happily told the two, as she passed the letter to Hermione, who nodded and smiled at the now excited and hyper Ivy, before passing it to Neville so that he could read it himself:

 _Dear Ivy,_

 _I guess I have no choice but to permit you to call me such a muggle name. It will make a fun  
afternoon to see my Death Eaters react to you calling me by my name._

 _That is perfect. The plan is for you to board the train, return to your muggle relatives' house,  
and then I shall arrive at eight in the evening to… tell your relatives where you shall stay for  
the Summer._

 _I have informed all of my Death Eaters to treat you with the utmost respect, tough they have no  
clue who you are. I have a ring that you can use as a glamour. I will explain it more tomorrow.  
There is no need to send a reply as we will be seeing each other tomorrow anyway. I shall see you  
on Friday, Ivy,_

 _Love, Tom Riddle_

"You're right, he is polite," he tilted his head to the side in a confused and questioning manner, "He's a lot more informal than I thought he would be."

"Yes, well," Ivy blushed, "I've been writing to him for a while now."

"You mean for two or three days?" Hermione teased, and Neville gave Ivy a teasing smirk too, he hardly ever saw the girl blush this hard.

"Yes, a lot can happen in such a short amount of time," Ivy defended herself, and Neville handed the letter back to her, and Ivy stuffed it into one of her pockets. She then turned to her friend, "Neville, I hope you're okay with this, and that you don't turn us into the aurors."

Neville just smiled and shook his head, "Of course not. I'm slightly disturbed since this is the guy who killed your parents, but he's treating you right so… I can deal with it."

Ivy gave him a tearful smile and a big fat bear hug, "Oh, sometimes I wish you were my brother. You could give all the guys who approach me the shovel talk, and Hermione could hex them to hell and back if they don't back off."

The three friends laughed and Ivy told Hedwig to go back to Tom, since she couldn't take her back to the Dursleys.

They then made their way to the Great Hall, as quite a lot of time had passed with the conversation flowing everywhere, most of it about teasing Ivy and her connection to the Dark Lord. Eventually, they made it to the Great Hall, and Ivy saw the same group of Slytherins she sat with there already, one of the only groups there. Ivy turned to her two friends and told them, "Go to the Gryffindor table so that no one suspects you of turning 'Dark'," Ivy rolled her eyes.

Hermione and Neville nodded and sat down at the Gryffindor table as Ivy sat down in between Pansy and Draco like the day before, "Good morning!"

"Ivy? Why are you sitting here?" Blaise suddenly spoke up before the others could greet the fearless Gryffindor.

Ivy huffed playfully and asked him, "Can't I sit with my friends?"

"You think that we're friends?" Pansy questioned, and Ivy would have thought that the pureblood girl was absolutely and completely disgusted with such an idea if Ivy didn't see the hope in the her and Draco's eyes.

Nodding, Ivy shot them both a smile and replied, "Yes, yes I do."

"Not that I'm complaining," began Theo, "but why are you sitting with us if you _know_ that the Dark Lord had returned and that we'll likely get marked as Death Eaters?"

Blaise nudged Theo and hissed, "Shut up," but stopped when he saw Ivy's smirk.

"Well, perhaps that's exactly why I'm friends with you all," she responded, and began laughing when she saw the four Slytherins look freaked out. "I'm just kidding! Dobby, you should have seen your expressions!"

"Dobby?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Mmhm," Ivy nodded, "It's like when wizards and witches say _'Merlin'_ or when muggles say _'God'_. He's annoying as hell but he has stronger magic than ordinary wizards and witches, since he's a house elf, so he's like a God. Also, he has tried to kill me several times."

"What?!" Draco squeaked in a high-pitched voice, making everyone laugh.

He crossed his arms elegantly and regally, and stuck his nose in the air. Ivy nodded and told all of her friends, "Yeah, so if you ever hear me say _'Dobby'_ , I can either mean that, or the house elf himself."

The four nodded, and Theo asked her his previous question once more. She only shrugged, "I have an explanation, which you will only get to hear during the Summer."

"But we're not seeing each other during the Summer," interjected Pansy, to which Ivy smirked.

"Keep telling yourself that, Pans," Ivy responded, and the Slytherins shared confused looks as they were all spending the Summer at Malfoy Manor with the Dark Lord. How were they supposed to explain that to the figurehead of the Light?! Still, they stayed quiet, and the five friends spent the rest of breakfast talking about mundane things such as Summer homework or what they're doing over the holidays. Ivy knew that they were trying to be her friend because they wanted to, and not because they were ordered to, or because they think they would please the Dark Lord. Though, if he ever finds out, they'll probably say that they were trying to get closer so that she would trust them and they could lure her somewhere. They thought that they had one over her, so she definitely couldn't wait until they saw her. Their expressions!

 _ **-Line break!-)**_

It was about four in the afternoon by now. Not much had happened other than Charms and Transfiguration, and Ivy was now relaxing with the Weasley twins and Ginny in the Gryffindor common room, as well as Hermione and Neville. The three had just told the red-heads about Ivy's correspondence with the Dark Lord, and they were all wary but excited too, as they couldn't believe some of the things their mother, Percy, and Ron had said before; it was absolutely crazy! So, they didn't trust the Light anymore, not with Dumbledore risking their favourite Potter's life every year. They even wished to join the Death Eaters, as a kind of revenge against the horrid things some of their family say. Bill and Charlie were out of the country, and would likely stay neutral.

Ivy quickly told Ginny that she was way too young, and would have to wait another year or two for that. As for the twins, Ivy promised to write to them during the Summer holidays and set up a meeting with the Dark Lord for them. At first, all of her friends laughed and questioned the absence of the _'T'_ at the end of _'Voldemort'_ , since it's French. Only Hermione knew why Ivy had pronounced it that way, and the two girls told the other four about it.

The six spent the rest of the day together, and when it was time for the End-of-Year Feast, they all walked down together, and they sat down together.

The possibility of all deflecting to the Darkness made their friendships stronger apparently. It made sense, they supported each other with the difficulty of leaving the Light, and they became better friends because of it.

All sat down at the Gryffindor table together (Hermione, then Ivy, then Neville on one side, and Fred, then Ginny, then George on the other side), they listened to Dumbledore's End-of-Year speech, mainly about sticking together for the dark times ahead, since Voldemort had returned. All six friends rolled their eyes at his choice in words, portraying the Dark side as murderous maniacs, and the Light as angels sent from heaven.

Finally, finally they all went to the dorms to sleep before leaving the following day, and Hermione and Ivy waved goodbye to the other four as the two girls made their way up the stairs to the Sixth-Year girls' dormitory. Hermione carefully and without a sound lied down onto her bed, while Ivy flopped onto hers, wanting the following day to come faster.

She would finally get to 'meet' Tom properly for the first time, though they had 'met' many times before.

How would she react to being in the same room as her parent's murderer? Would her indifference change to compete loathing? Or would she understand, like now, why he had to do such a thing? And then, suddenly, a thought passed her mind. What was he going to do to the Dursleys?! He despised abuse, so what would he do to the abusers of his now ally in the war?

She didn't want to think about it.

While she might be on the Dark side of the war, she certainly wasn't going to do any killing unless necessary. She was different from ordinary Death Eaters. Was she even a Death Eater? Or was she the Dark Lord's equal, like the blasted prophecy had stated.

And with these thoughts, Ivy fell asleep looking forward to meeting a certain Tom Marvolo Riddle.

 **A/N: So, they'll finally meet in the next chapter! I hope that you're all excited for it. I know I am!**

 **Although the plot has moved along slightly, this chapter was mostly filler. At least compared to the coming chapter, when the two main characters meet. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!**

 **Enjoy!**


	8. Summer Part 1

_**Chapter 8:**_ _ **(3265 words)**_

Ivy was woken up by an excited Hermione that Friday morning, "Ivy! I've finished the book!"

The ebony-haired girl sat up on her bed and looked to the side to see Hermione grinning and holding up a dark green book, like a darker shade of the Slytherin colours. It had a silver spine and the words were written in silver ink to dark green pages. There was even a silver snake on the front! "Really? That's great!"

Standing up to receive the book from Hermione, Ivy suddenly remembered what day it was, and more specifically, what would take place later on. "Ivy? Are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost- oh wait, that doesn't work anymore, does it?"

Hermione chuckled and Ivy grinning at her friend's words. It was easy to forget that muggle sayings aren't all that compatible to the wizarding world. Ivy took the book from Hermione and shrank it before placing it in one of her pockets on her robes so that she could read it on the train back to the Dursleys. _'Not for long!'_ whispered the childish part of her brain. After growing up without a childhood, she cherished the moments when she was very much an immature five-year old.

The two friends dressed and walked down the stairs to see Neville, Ginny, Fred, and George waiting for them in the common room. "Hello, Ivy! Hello, Hermione!" greeted an excitable Fred and George. They hoped that they would be able to become Death Eaters that Summer, and with Ivy's 'contacts', they just couldn't wait.

Neville and Ginny were a bit more subdued, but after knowing that Ivy wasn't going back to her horrid relatives for long, they smiled and waited. Neville wasn't going to forgive the Dark side so easily, but hopefully, eventually, he'd meet the Lestranges and realise the same thing Ivy had: that it was all a part of being in a war. Ivy was certain that Neville's parents, and her own, had killed before, but that was forgiven easily. So why not the other way around? Anyways, Ivy was thinking of becoming a healer when she leaves Hogwarts, so perhaps she could help Frank and Alice Longbottom. She received her middle name from Neville's mum, as she was her godmother. She wasn't going to give up on her and Frank.

And Ginny was just bitter that she was too young to become a Death Eater. That was when Ivy reminded her that she was staying a year longer in Hogwarts, meaning that she would be very helpful in the war. She had lightened up after that.

The six friends walked to breakfast, and as it was so early, there was hardly anyone there. Ivy raced over to the Slytherin table as it was becoming the new normal the past few days. "Hey guys!" Pansy glared at her, "And girls!"

The Slytherin girl nodded and Ivy sat down, "Soooooo, what are you lot doing over the Summer?"

She was curious to see what they would tell her, as they can't exactly say that they're going to stay with the Dark Lord for the Summer, can they? She snorted in amusement, and the others merely shrugged it off, not concerned about what it could mean.

"Well, I am, of course, staying at Malfoy manor with Father and Mother," Draco responded, and Ivy smirked, adding _, 'and some other… guests,'_ mentally at the end. Pansy, Blaise, and Theo nodded along, and Pansy mentioned that they would all see each other a lot during the holidays.

Ivy had to remind herself that they _were_ Slytherins, so _of course_ they could lie brilliantly! They weren't even lying in the first place, only withholding the truth, really. Blaise then looked at her and asked, "And you? Pardon my bluntness but I am rather curious. No one knows where you go during the Summer."

Shrugging, Ivy replied with, "Not my fault, but I'll tell you soon, maybe over the Summer." She grinned, and the purebloods were looking at her with thinly vailed curiosity.

"Over letters, you mean?" Pansy questioned, and Ivy shrugged again.

"Not necessarily, I could always… visit you," Ivy suggested, her grin staying firmly in place on her face, and the four purebloods gulped silently, worried about what would happen if she actually _did_ visit Malfoy manor over the Summer. "Anyways, I'm going to go board the train early. See you later!"

She then raced over to the Gryffindor table and told her friends the same thing that she told the Slytherins, and after receiving nods from them all, she sprinted to the station, and she boarded the train. It was completely empty… well, other than a loony Ravenclaw. Grinning radically, Ivy walked into the compartment and greeted, "Hey, Luna!"

The mentioned girl turned to look at Ivy and Luna smiled mysteriously at her, "Good morning, Ivy. You seem happy today, you usually look as if you're dreading it when we go back."

Ivy nodded, not surprised that Luna noticed her hesitancy to leaving Hogwarts and magic, "I'm looking forward to the Summer for once."

"That's good, I'm glad," Luna smiled, and Ivy smiled back.

"Hey… Luna?"

"Yes, Ivy?"

"What are your view on the Light and the Dark?" Ivy asked cautiously.

Luna hesitated for a second, before taking a deep breath and replying with, "I don't really agree with either of them, but I'd prefer the Dark."

Ivy nodded, "I'm glad."

Not even looking surprised, Luna nodded in agreement. She then added quietly, "I don't think that they should ban different types of magic. It should be free."

"Yeah, I know. They ban the Dark Arts because they're dangerous, but a Wingardium Leviosa could kill just as easily," Ivy complained, and the two spent the following few minutes just talking about both sides of the war. Eventually, Hermione, the twins, Ginny, and Neville found them, and they all sat in the compartment, snuggled in rather tightly.

The train ride was a lot happier than the earlier years, Ivy thought as she reached into her pocket and unshrunk the book Hermione gave her, but that might just be because she has an inkling of what will happen to the Dursleys later that day. Grinning at the thought, she read the English parts first, wanting to know more healing spells and potions anyway, as she _did_ want to be a healer. There aren't enough of those on the Dark side of the war. Eventually, the train rolled into the station.

Before Ivy went to Vernon, she greeted Mrs Weasley and gave her a hug before shouting, "BYE!" to all of her friends and running towards her uncle with her trunk and owl stand in hand. "Hello, uncle."

"Freak," he acknowledged, and Ivy, already used to it, ignored the name, "Took you long enough."

"Lovely to see you too, uncle," she gave him a tightly pressed smile that promised revenge, and Vernon shivered for reasons unknown to him. He wasn't afraid of this puny little girl, he could do whatever he wanted to the burdening freak of nature. He gave her a sadistic grin and dragged her to the car before driving away to Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

It was nearing eight, but the Dark Lord had a feeling that something wrong had happened, and he never doubted his instincts. So that was why, at 7:55PM, five minutes before the appointed time, Tom apparated to the front of Number 4 Privet Drive. The blood wards only worked if Ivy viewed this house as her home, but that had stopped the second she learned about magic. Hogwarts was her home now, very much like how Tom felt at her age. He wasn't wearing his glamour, so at that moment, he looked like his twenty-year old self. He didn't want to raise alarm.

With a pop, he stood in front of the door, and knocked rapidly on the door. He couldn't use magic, as he was sure that Dumbledore would know if someone used a Dark spell at the house.

The door opened, and revealed a horse-faced middle-aged woman, who looked furious at the sight of his clothing, "Another _freak_?! We don't want to talk to any more of _your_ kind!"

Those words sounded so similar to the words his father spoke when he went to meet him and his grandparents. He left that house empty, which gave away what he _really_ wanted to do to this blasted muggle. "Excuse me, Mrs Dursley," he snarled, his red eyes revealing themselves. The woman took a step back, and rushed to close the door, but he stuck out a hand and forced it to stay as it was, "I've come to see Miss Potter, and if you allow it, I'll let you live."

"Y-you're You-Know-Who, aren't you?" the muggle stuttered, taking some more steps back. "What're you going to do to the bloody freak?"

"She is _not_ a freak!" he snarled, and the woman fainted in fear. Tom sneered at her unconscious body, wishing that he could murder her that very second. Still, he had work to do. He stepped inside of the house, and a whale of a man rushed out of where he assumed was the living room.

"You! You're one of _them_ lot!" he accused, and Tom clenched his fists in an attempt to not whip out a wand and cut this abusive man to bits.

"And _you're_ a muggle, a much worse crime, wouldn't you agree," he sneered, and the muggle's face turned purple with rage. Tom decided that, even if he wouldn't use magic, he could pretend he could, so he pointed his almost bone-white wand at the now shivering man.

"How DARE you come into MY house and point that, that THING!" he shouted, and Tom glared viciously at the man. If looks could kill… well, it wouldn't be pretty.

"Take me to your niece," he ordered, and he pointed the wand straight at the other obese boy, who just walked into the corridor at the sound of his father shouting. The muggle boy ran off after seeing the wand, robes, and his unconscious mother, and his father stood back and pointed to the stairs, wide eyed, though still purple with fury. Tom walked up the stairs as fast as he could, while still looking as threatening as possible, and at the sight of the cat flap and the five locks on one of the doors, he snarled. How dare that muggles do this to a wizarding child! This is exactly the kind of thing he was attempting to stop, and _Dumbledore_ knew about it!

Using wandless magic, he unlocked the door and pushed it open to reveal a skinny girl with a blood covered body. "Ivy…" It left his lips before he could stop it, and she rolled over to look at him with pain-filled eyes that looked so much older than they actually were.

"Tom…" she managed to get out," You came…"

"Of course I did," he replied affectionately (he would deny it if anyone asked, but it was true), and he walked slowly up to her so that she wouldn't be afraid. He was trying to kill her just a few days ago, after all. Her eyes bore into his blood red ones, and she snorted. He raised an eyebrow, "Why…"

"Sorry," she smiled at him, and he couldn't breathe for a second, "I just find it so ironic that your eyes are the colour of Gryffindor and mine are the colour of Slytherin."

He smirked at her and she smiled back, "I admit, that it _is_ rather ironic. Come on, try to stand and I'll help you."

"Okay," she breathed painfully as she tried to stand. He quickly rushed forward to help her, and after a few attempts, she was standing while leaning on him. His arm was around her waist to secure her, and he didn't really know what to do. He usually left his Death Eaters to heal themselves or each other, but they couldn't do either in this place. Once she was secure, she mumbled, "Thanks, Tom."

"Your welcome, Ivy," he smirked at the use of her name, and tried to push away the thought that he didn't really mind her calling him that muggle name. It still annoyed him slightly, but if he tried to ask her to stop, she'd probably just slyly convince him to allow her to do it. She could be very Slytherin when she wanted to be.

They made their way down the stairs with Tom practically carrying her down, and she blushed embarrassedly, though Tom told her that he didn't mind at all. Once they reached the bottom floor, she pointed at the cupboard under the stairs and explained that it used to be her room, and all of her things were in there. Tom left her leaning on the wall as he brought out her trunk whilst thinking of the best ways to murder the Dursleys.

Securing Ivy with one hand and holding her trunk in the other, it was slow going to get far enough from the Dursley residence. The three muggles stayed far away at the threats Tom thought up, and eventually, he and Ivy found themselves in a little deserted park a few minutes away from the Dursleys. Tom turned to look at her and said, "I'm going to call a Death Eater, but before I do, I want you to put on this ring so that they won't know who you are."

"Like a glamour?" she asked curiously, and then scrunched up into a little ball, expecting to be hit. She was very surprised when Tom dragged her downwards so that they were both on the floor, with her still leaning on Tom, who began to stroke her hair, sifting his hands through the unruly, but incredibly soft ebony strands.

"I'm not going to hurt you for asking a question, Ivy. You're going to want to learn during the Summer, and questions will help greatly," he explained softly, and Ivy calmed down quickly. He continued slowly and quietly, "I apologise about my tendency of attempting to take your life."

Ivy laughed as Tom gave her a little silver ring with Slytherin green gems surrounding it. The jewellery was gorgeous, and Ivy spent a few minutes admiring it, which Tom allowed, as he reacted in the same way the first time he learnt and saw the ring. She then looked up to him and softly told him, "Thank you… It's beautiful."

Tom smiled and nodded, and Ivy stared at the first action, having never seen him smile, only smirk.

She quickly snapped out of it, not wanting to be caught but, well, Tom wasn't the Dark Lord just because of pure luck: he had skills, and observation was one of them, though he didn't ask her about the actions, respecting her privacy.

"Just say 'Change' in Parseltongue, and it'll change your appearance," he explained, "You have to think of what you want to look like, and the ring will make you look like it. You then say 'Enough' in Parseltongue and it will lock you into the appearance so you won't accidentally change appearance. You then say 'Stop' in Parseltongue and the ring will change you back to your normal appearance. Understand all of that?"

Ivy nodded and placed the ring on her right ring finger, not wanting anyone to mistake her for being engaged or married. She then lifted the ring to her face and whispered, **"Change."**

Tom shivered, unused to hearing someone else speaking Parseltongue.

Her hip-length, unruly, ebony hair changed to sleek, light-brown hair that went about half-way down her back, and her bright Avada Kedavra green eyes changed to a luxurious blue, the colour the ocean wished it could be. Her skin, face shape, height, and weight stayed the same. However, she did hide her lightning-bolt scar, knowing that it didn't matter if she had a glamour if her scar still revealed her identity. She didn't hide the scar Umbridge forced her to carve into her right hand, seeing no point. She also unconsciously fixed her eyesight, always having wanted to do that.

She opened her eyes and whispered, **"Enough,"** and her appearance stopped shifting. She then looked at him and asked, "Is this alright?"

Nodding, Tom smiled, "That is perfect, no one will recognise you like that. You can, of course, tell people who you are, as I know you can defend yourself. Also, I am myself curious to see the youngest Malfoy and his little friends' reactions to you staying at Malfoy manor."

Ivy nodded along, and blushed at the compliments in the beginning. No one ever tells her that she's done a great job, and she assumed that Tom wasn't just talking about the glamour, so she embarrassedly mumbled, "Thanks, Tom."

"Of course, Ivy…. Wait…" he thought for a moment, and then he tugged her rickety old glasses off of her face, "There, that's much better."

Ivy blushed as he continued speaking. "Now, I'll call one of my followers, though I will be wearing my own glamour," he informed and he waved his wand around, so that he looked like the snake-human hybrid that was found in her nightmares. Ivy took a deep breath and thought to herself repeatedly that he was nice, and on her side now. Tom continued to speak afterwards, "Preferably Rodolphus as he is a good healer." Tom nodded in his decision and focused on Rodolphus and soon there was a pop in front of them. The man was tall and had a couple of scars dotted around his face, and his hair was a deep black. "Rodolphus, this is the guest that I talked about. She is gravely injured and I would appreciate if you would heal her."

The Death Eater – Rodolphus, Ivy told herself – nodded and brought out his wand before waving it around, casting diagnosis spells, and his eyes widened at the amount of injuries on the list that appeared, "Uh, my Lord?"

"Yes?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll want to look at this," Rodolphus mumbled before handing the list to the Dark Lord.

Tom grew furious at those muggles the more he read, and wished that he could just rip them all to shreds at that very moment, and never have to hear about the inhumane treacherous things that they have done to Ivy ever again. He forced himself to calm down, though his blood red eyes still glowed with fury and power. He ordered, "Thank you, Rodolphus. Now, heal the worst of her injuries so that we may apparate to Malfoy manor."

"Of course, my Lord," Rodolphus replied and he began waving his wand around some more, different colours shining around the tip every few seconds.

Ivy felt some bones snap into place and she gritted her teeth through the pain, knowing that she had been through worse. After a few minutes, the blood was gone and Ivy could stand without help with only a touch of pain that she could easily ignore. As she and the Dark Lord rose from the floor, Ivy turned to Rodolphus and told him, "Thank you," noting that her voice sounded different with the glamour. More… airy, almost like Luna's voice in a way.

The man nodded in thanks and Tom announced, "Now that all of that is over, let us apparate to headquarters," and with a pop, they were gone, only the sound of the wavering grass and ripples of the nearby pond were left.

 **A/N: So, Tom and Ivy 'meet'. At least they aren't killing each other…? Please don't kill me for making Ivy go through so much pain and sadness. :(**

 **Anyways, Ivy will be at Malfoy manor in the next chapter, though I don't know if she'll reveal herself until the chapter after that. We'll just have to wait and see, as I haven't written it yet. I'm really enjoying this story, anyways, and I hope you like it too!**

 **Also, I didn't mean to make Tom so affectionate, it just happened! :D**

 **Enjoy!**


	9. Summer Part 2

_**Chapter 9:**_ _ **(3016 words)**_

"My Lord!" exclaimed Narcissa, Lucius, and Bellatrix as they rushed to him to see if he was alright. They didn't know what happened, but they were worried when Rodolphus was called. Everyone knew that he was the best healer out of the Death Eaters, other than the official healer himself, though the man didn't possess a Dark Mark.

Ivy, who was busy thinking of a possible name for her new appearance, snapped out of it when she caught sight of Bellatrix. She was the reason Sirius was dead… Almost as if he knew what she was thinking, Tom placed a white, bony hand on her shoulder and dismissed the four Death Eaters. "We will conduct introductions at a later occasion, as we have much to discuss. You are excused," he addressed his Death Eaters, and they all nodded, bowed, and left the room.

Letting out a shaky breath that Ivy didn't know that she was holding in, she turned to look at Tom, who had spelled away his glamour. The man seemed to have noticed her distress, and raised an eyebrow, to which she responded with a mumbled, "Bellatrix killed Sirius at the Ministry."

Tom then nodded understandably and smirked, "I think that he will be just fine."

"Wait, what?! What do you mean?!" she asked, eyes wide. It was a rather unusual sensation to not have her glasses on her face, as she had been having problems with her eyesight for almost a decade. Tom laughed, and Ivy took a moment to appreciate the fact that she caused him to laugh before she shook her head mentally and asked again, "What?!"

"Calm down, Ivy," he grinned, "Black's not dead, we saved him from the bloody veil."

"…" Ivy didn't know what to do but gape. Even before they had got along, he was planning to attempt to rescue Sirius from certain death? She had really misjudged him. Bloody Dumbledore… She took a deep breath before softly replying with, "I- thank you."

Tom nodded, and asked, "He is still unconscious, but our medi-wizard was certain that he would awake soon, perhaps this Summer."

Grinning elatedly, Ivy cheekily replied with, "Then it's a good thing I'm staying here for the Summer, isn't it?"

"Of course," he smirked back, and he led her to the bedroom across from Malfoy, though not without placing his glamour over him once more, "This is where you will stay. I have made sure to give you the privilege of having a room across from young Mr Malfoy, who might be thoroughly astonished at the sight of Miss Potter strolling merrily out of the bedroom of the Dark Lord's guest, yes?"

Ivy chuckled and smirked, "Rather devious of you, Tom."

"Only the best for my supposed murderer," he smirked back, and she opened the door to reveal a brilliantly large bedroom decorated with green, her favourite green.

"How did you know my favourite colour?"

"Your eyes," he softly responded, and she nodded in thanks, a smile gracing her features. He then cleared his throat, "I will allow for you to explore your room for ten minutes. No more, no less. I shall be informing every Death Eater of your arrival, and you shall meet them when I return, in ten minutes. Understood?"

She nodded numbly as she mumbled, "Every Death Eater…?"

"Yes. You _will_ be staying over for an entire Summer, and I have plans coming up soon, and I shall have to leave you here to fend for yourself, so I'd prefer if you had allies," he told her, and she nodded with a smile, "Oh, and little Malfoy and his friends are already here, so don't antagonise them. You can reveal yourself to whoever you wish, but please don't try to get yourself killed."

"No promises, Tom," she smirked, to which he nodded and quickly left the room empty with the exception of her and the furniture and decorations of the wonderful room. _Her_ wonderful room.

She wondered around the entire room, and she found that she couldn't stop grinning: she was free. From the Dursleys, from being controlled, from Dumbledore; she was free! And she had her own room too, which was pretty cool. She checked the wardrobe and found it filled with robes of black and green, and she grinned; Tom must have done this, the sly bugger. She tugged off the overgrown rags that the Dursleys gave her to wear and pulled on a dark green robe, so dark that most would mistake it for black. Sighing as she found nothing else to explore after checking out her en-suite bathroom, Ivy decided to go and… antagonise a Malfoy and his little friends.

She walked across the hall and knocked on the beautifully carved door. It was opened by a curious Draco Malfoy, though he was trying to hide any traces of such an emotion.

He raised an eyebrow at finding a stranger outside of his door. Perhaps this was the guest that was coming over to stay in the manor over the Summer. That girl better not cause any trouble, and perhaps she might even join his little groups of friends, "Would you like something?"

Expecting her to gulp nervously and stutter out a negative, he raised another eyebrow when she merely grinned and replied with a, "Duh, or else I wouldn't be here, now would I?"

Pansy came to the door to find another girl and seemed ready to squeal happily at the sight of another female. Poor thing, she must be getting really tired of being around boys all day, "And who are you?"

Finally set on a name that she had decided while exploring her green bedroom, Ivy responded, "Hecate Tyche."

Theo, who showed up beside his two other friends along with Blaise, raised an eyebrow and asked, "That's a very Greek name."

Ivy shrugged, and a smile blossomed on her face, "Yes, well, it describes me perfectly."

"The goddess of magic and ghosts, and the goddess of good luck?" Blaise asked with a smirk, and Ivy nodded with a smirk of her own.

"Well, not as much the ghosts, but I _am_ a witch, and I have stupidly insane good luck," she explained, rolling her eyes near the end, since she herself didn't understand how stupid her luck was. Theo and Blaise chuckled at the explanation and all four friends nodded at her words.

"That's not your real name, is it?" Draco asked her, and she shrugged with a smirk.

"Nope, and this isn't what I look like either, but I wasn't lying when I said that the name I chose described me rather well," she grinned. Knowing she had to keep up the act, she then asked them, "And what are your names?"

"Well, Fortuna – can I call you Fortuna? It suits you so much better," Blaise began with a charming smile, which Ivy rolled her eyes two and nodded. Pansy grinned in triumph and pointed in his face and took great delight in saying that not all girls fell for his charms, to which he huffed and continued, "I'm Blaise Zabini, and this is Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, and Draco Malfoy."

Ivy nodded, and Pansy added, "All of our families are deeply tied with the Dark Lord, but we don't mind. We were hoping to get marked this Summer, but… well, don't tell anyone but we befriended Ivy Potter this week."

Widening her eyes, Ivy gaped at Pansy letting this information out to a practical stranger. Pansy nodded, mistaking her surprised look for one of disbelief, "That's right. Mind, I was just as surprised, yet I feel like we're letting her down by getting marked this Summer, but I'd really like to."

Letting out a deep breath, Ivy grinned, "I really don't think she'd mind."

"How can you know?" Pansy asked quietly, and Draco raised an eyebrow at Ivy.

"How old are you anyway?" he asked.

"Fifteen, soon to be sixteen," Ivy responded, and she grinned at them all.

"Really?!" Blaise cried in disbelief, "bu-but you're so small!" Pansy, Draco, and Theo all nodded rapidly at the words, and Ivy rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I know," Ivy smirked, "Not my fault, is it?"

"True, but still! I thought that you were thirteen or something similar until I knew better, and I was wondering what you were doing here as a guest of the Dark Lord at such a young age," Blaise responded, and Theo nodded at the words of his friend.

Ivy nodded and told them, "T- uh, the Dark Lord said that he was calling all of the Death Eaters to introduce me to them, since I'm staying here for the whole Summer." She almost slipped up at the beginning with saying Tom's name, and she almost smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, but she refrained from doing so. They all nodded at the words, and Draco opened the door so that the five friends could walk to the main ballroom, which was being used as the room for the Death eater meetings ever since the Dark Lord came to stay there.

Once they arrived, they saw that many Death Eaters were apparating into the absolutely massive room, wearing their long black cloaks and masks. Tom was at the back of the room, facing the Death Eaters with his glamour spelled on. Many of the Death Eaters, once arriving, took off their masks and pulled down their hoods and began chatting with the others once they saw that there was no terrible emergency. Ivy couldn't believe her eyes: she always thought that the Dark Lord tortured his followers severely, though he might still do so. Still, the Death Eaters talked without a care in the world.

Ivy and the other four teenagers gaped at the friendliness of the crowd, and glancing at Tom, Ivy realised that he would like for her to meet some of them. She nodded slightly, just enough so that he would see it for what it was, and she gestured for the other teens to spread out, though they stuck together anyways.

After about two minutes, she shook them off, and went exploring to see all of the Death Eaters that were there, she even saw Snape! She passed Greyback and saw that he was holding a lightbulb with interest, and deciding to listen in on the conversation that the werewolf was having with Snape at that moment. "Look, Snape! A-a… what's it called again?" the werewolf asked curiously.

Snape seemed about ready to throw himself off of a bridge as he sighed deeply and replied, "A lightbulb, Greyback. It's called a lightbulb."

Ivy smirked and decided to rescue her vicious professor. She stepped forward and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Snape saw her and raised a suspicious eyebrow before gesturing to Greyback and responding with, "Greyback here found a lightbulb on his travels and wanted me to tell him what it was and what it could do, as he knew of my knowledge on such things."

Nodding, Ivy told him, "I could explain, if you'd like, though I don't know how informative I could be."

Raising an eyebrow, Snape nodded, "Very well, though I shall stay in the case that you have forgotten something. I am Severus Snape, potions master and the professor of potions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Smiling amusedly at the overly long title, Ivy nodded and told him, "Well, I'm not going to tell you my actual name, so for now I'm Hecate Tyche, or otherwise known as Fortuna."

"Greek?" he raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"Of course," she smirked.

"Very well, Miss Tyche. Take it away," he gestured again to Greyback and smirked at what was sure to be a silly pureblood's failure at explaining a muggle object. He doubted that this girl was an expert on muggle life, and expected her to be a pureblood, or a half-blood that was raised by wizards, or else she never would have known about Greek goddesses, or be comfortable speaking to Death Eaters. She must have just heard of the infamous Fenrir Greyback, and wished to get on his good side.

"Okay," she smiled and looked at Greyback, who was looking at her with thinly veiled impatience and curiosity. "Well, a lightbulb is, as you can see, a glass bulb that is inserted into a lamp or a socket on the ceiling. It provides light by passing an electric current through a… what's the word? A wire?" She glanced at a thoroughly shocked Snape. Hmm, guess he didn't believe that she would know much about a muggle thing.

He cleared his throat and told them, "It is called a filament."

Greyback nodded with a smile and told them both, "Thank you."

"No problem!" Ivy called after him. Not wanting to look suspicious – though she assumed that Snape already knew who she was, being the spy that he is – she asked the potions professor, "Who was that?"

Snape raised an eyebrow, but said nothing of his suspicions and told her, "That was Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf and he has an unfortunate reputation of passing on Lycanthropy to younger children, or just murdering them outright. It isn't true, not really. He's gotten under control in the last decade or two."

Ivy nodded, glad that he wasn't as much of a monster that the light made him out to be. She was about to ask Snape about Lycanthropy when Tom stood, and everyone stopped talking, so that the silence of the room was almost visible. Everyone bowed their heads, and Ivy was now truly thankful for being so short, as no one noticed that she hadn't done such a thing. Instead, she was smirking at Tom, who smirked right back, and she walked through the sea of Death Eaters until she was in front of him.

"Fortuna, you have finally come to join us," he smirked at her, and many were surprised to see the very young-looking girl smirk back at the feared Dark Lord.

"It's my pleasure, my Lord," she replied and bowed at the end, and he seemed immensely amused with the action and the last part, almost as if he wasn't expecting such a thing. He nodded and she stepped up beside him.

"Death Eaters, this is the guest that will be staying at Malfoy manor for the Summer holidays, as I have informed you all. She will only reveal herself to you if she decides to do so, which means that for now, her name is Hecate Tyche, or Fortuna," he told the large crowd that absorbed the words he spoke. They didn't expect the guest of the Dark Lord to be a little girl who seemed to be about thirteen to fourteen years old.

Ivy smiled at him and soon the meeting was over.

The ebony-haired girl was afraid of spending any more time with Snape, just in case he discovers her identity, which she didn't want discovering until perhaps the next day. She didn't want to worry about the dangers she would be putting herself in if the Death Eaters knew who she was.

She smiled softly as she flopped ungracefully onto her luscious green bed, breathing in the clean rich scent of the duvet and covers. At the Dursleys, she always had to stay all day and sleep in a small room with little to do. The covers were never cleaned, so she had to learn the cleaning spell wandlessly and wordlessly if she wanted to clean anything. At the very least, it made her cleaning chores much easier if she was certain that she wouldn't be caught.

Thinking of how glad she was that she would never have to go back to the Dursleys, Ivy fell into a deep sleep.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

"My Lord, I would like to speak to you privately, though my sister and her husband may come," asked Bellatrix to the Dark Lord. Narcissa and Lucius behind her nodded at the words she spoke, and Tom sighed silently and nodded, before guiding them to a separate room.

"What is it, Bella?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Your little guest seems… I don't know, afraid of me," the woman answered truthfully, and Narcissa placed her hand on her sister's shoulder.

Tom nodded with a little smirk, "Although I am unsure as to why it affects you so much, I know why Fortuna fears you, and I believe that she has gotten over such a thing." Bella raised an eyebrow, as did Narcissa and Lucius, but Tom stayed silent.

Bellatrix nodded and thanked the Dark Lord, and she left the room, likely to be looking for her husband and his brother. Lucius and Narcissa stayed, however, and the latter placed her hands on her hips, "What was all that about?"

Lucius placed a hand on his wife's shoulder to try and calm her curiosity down, worried that the Dark Lord would Crucio her, but he just smirked and replied to her question. "Fortuna has some… unpleasant memories of your sister, Narcissa," he informed her and his husband. "I explained the reasons why the act committed truly wasn't as hopeless as she assumed, and I have reason to believe that she won't dislike Bella as much as she did prior to our little conversation."

Nodding, Narcissa thanked him, and dragged Lucius off to what was likely to be their bedroom.

Tom sighed and returned to his personal quarters, where he removed his glamour and wondered if introducing Ivy to Malfoy manor was such a good idea or not. At the very least, she would be far away from those monsters she calls relatives. Tom, unlike Ivy's feelings of freedom, fell asleep to masterful plans of murder and torture, wanting the Dursleys to suffer the same way they made their own niece (or in Dudley's case: cousin) suffer.

He grinned mercilessly as he drifted off into the depths of unconsciousness, waiting for the following day to arrive so he could begin the first step to his plan of taking over Hogwarts.

 **A/N: I can't wait until the next chapter! I don't even know why…**

 **Perhaps it's because it'll be chapter 10, or because Tom talks to Dumbledora the explorer. I love the little nicknames I give these characters. For example, even though I don't use it in my writing, in my head, I always call Tom 'Tombola', or 'Voldielocks.' I will forever love both!**

 **Enjoy!**


	10. Summer Part 3

_**Chapter 10:**_ _ **(3513 words)**_

"Rise and shine, flower," smirked Tom as Ivy jumped and fell off of the bed.

"Tom!" she glared, "What the hell?!"

He shrugged and smirked at the girl, "Just waking you up, that's all. Anyways, I have business to go to at midday, so I was hoping that I would have the privilege of seeing some sixteen-year old future Death Eaters across the hall have a heart attack."

She narrowed her eyes and mumbled, "I'm not sure if you mean literally or figuratively."

He grinned, "Wouldn't you like to know. Anyways," he waved a hand at her, "get up, it's seven in the morning, and since it's a Saturday, little Malfoy and his friends wake up at around half seven. That's enough time to get ready, yes?"

She nodded with a yawn and once she opened her eyes, she saw that Tom was no longer there. She shrugged and started to get dressed.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Why was he feeling like this?! He saw Ivy yawn a little, in a way that it made her nose crinkle slightly and made her eyes glitter, and he felt like his heart was about to tap dance out of his chest! Perhaps he was just unused to being in close proximity to his ex-rival, since he was used to wanting to murder her whenever they were close, but then he shook his head. He didn't feel like that anymore. He didn't think he could ever feel that way again after finding out what her relatives had done to her.

They were so much more similar than he ever realised!

Sighing in silence, he placed his 'Voldemort' glamour on and walked to the room where meetings take place. There were many Death Eaters just sitting around, having breakfast and casually enjoying each other's company. Once they saw him, the majority nodded their heads in respect, and some others stood up and bowed before sitting back sown. He nodded back and sat at the end of the table, since he was their leader.

Oh, this was going to be very interesting, he could already tell. He didn't eat anything, usually eating in his chambers in solitude – well, with Nagini –, and waited with very well-hidden excitement at what was sure to be an incredibly amusing event in a few minutes.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Ivy strolled to the mirror after dressing very dark green robes – they were practically black, really – and looking into it, seeing someone that looked very different to what she usually looked like. _'Now, we can't have that!'_ she smirked happily and whispered, **"Stop,"** and looked at her appearance change rapidly to what she normally looked like. With her signature unruly long hair and brilliantly glowing Avada-Kedavra green eyes, she grinned and walked slowly and silently to Draco's bedroom door.

She took a deep breath and knocked.

The door was opened by a wide-awake Blaise, who was about to politely greet whoever was at the door. Instead, however, he gaped at the sight of the Light Girl-Who-Lived at Malfoy manor, in the same building as the Dark Lord!

Ivy could hear, from inside the room, Pansy ask, "Blaise? Who is it?"

Blaise looked at Ivy and narrowed his eyes, before whispering, "What the hell?!"

It sounded more like hissing, really.

Ivy shrugged and smirked, before responding in a normal volume, "I did say that I would visit you, didn't I?"

"Ivy!" Pansy cried from inside the room, obviously having heard the girl's voice. Ivy also heard Draco and Theo simultaneously shout incorrigible strings of sentences about how unbelievable that sounded. The three others rushed to the doorway and stood next to Blaise, their own jaws dropping themselves.

"Uhh, hi guys," Ivy smiled sheepishly, though secretly she was delighted at how much fun she was having with this. She should have done something like this ages ago! "Soooooo," she began, "I was thinking of having some breakfast. Want some?"

"W-wait! Ivy, uh, I think it's best if we eat here," Blaise practically begged the ebony-haired girl, but Ivy just kept on politely smiling at the four.

"Aw, but I really wanted to look around the manor! C'mon!" she grinned and grabbed Pansy's hand before racing down the hall. She stopped and turned around, seeing the three boys' horrified expressions. Oh, this was so fun! "Are you coming or what?!"

She heard Blaise sigh, and Draco called back, "We're coming."

Ivy let go of Pansy and raced down the hall to where she knew the meeting hall was. The four teenagers were right behind here, wanting to stop her but knowing that the stubborn Gryffindor wouldn't stop for anything. They only hoped that the ebony-haired girl would survive.

Before entering the large room, Ivy stopped running and straightened out her robe, almost as if she knew there was a large amount of people in the room, strangely enough. She then opened the doors and strolled in.

There were gasps and several people rising with their wands at the ready but many were surprised to see the unfazed Dark Lord smirking at his long-time rival. "Oh," she unsurprisingly stated, "hello, Tom." The four teenagers behind her were shaking with fear, only some knew that the Dark Lord despised his muggle name, and even more didn't even know his name. They didn't want their friend to be hurt, it seemed like she was looking for trouble on purpose, the bloody Gryffindor!

Ivy took great pleasure in seeing the astonished look of her favourite potions professor, that's for sure.

All of the Death Eaters froze, unsure whether to hex the girl silly, or wait for the Dark Lord to say something.

As if sensing what his followers were thinking, Voldemort sighed and stood up, "Ivy, I would appreciate if you wouldn't make a scene, some people are attempting to eat." Honestly, she sure knew how to make a scene, even though she despised her fame and history. Still, he was secretly greatly enjoying the reactions of his Death Eaters to his supposed rival casually appearing in the same room as the Dark Lord without a fear in the world. And Ivy knew it.

Everyone in the room was gaping, gasps escaping out of many mouths. Only Ivy and Tom weren't doing such a thing, instead choosing to wear a pleasant smirk on their face, "Of course, Tom. I apologise, I didn't know so many people would be present."

Snape in particular, she noted, was gaping the most.

He nodded with a smirk and gestured for her to take a seat, "Thank you," she smiled happily and made her way to sit right next to the Dark Lord.

Rodolphus suddenly gasped and stood up, "You're his guest!"

She smiled and nodded, "Indeed. I did mean it when I said thank you, yesterday."

He looked shocked, but he nodded and sat back down. Bellatrix then suddenly stood up and walked to the girl. The four teenagers at the door almost wanted to stop the woman, knowing what she did at the Ministry of Magic, but Ivy smiled, trusting the witch for some reason or another. Bellatrix sighed as she stood in front of Ivy, "Miss Potter, I apologise for everything I did. My Lord mentioned that your problems with me were resolved," she looked questioningly at the fifteen-year old.

"Yes, I understand that this is just a war, and that you did what you must. Also, it helps that I know that Sirius is alive," Ivy smiled at the woman, the majority if the people in the room surprised at how absolutely… friendly their actions were. They acted as if they had been close cousins or something. Which they, in some way, were. Ivy was related to Sirius through her grandmother, who was a Black, and he was related to Bellatrix, meaning the Ivy was related to Bellatrix.

The witch nodded, thankful that Ivy didn't despise her as much as she thought. Bellatrix then turned around and sat down again. Ivy turned to Tom and smirked some more, and the four teenagers who stood by the doorway silently went to sit by their families, all the while mumbling how ridiculous the Gryffindor in the room was.

After a few minutes, in which Greyback continued the conversation from the previous day on muggle objects with Ivy, the other Death Eaters continued with their breakfast, and the noise level slowly climbed to where it was before the supposedly Light Girl-Who-Lived showed up. Well, all of the other Death Eaters but Snape, who just sat there as if in a trance. Not wanting for him to despise her for the rest of their lives, Ivy stood up and sat down across from him. No one said anything about it, as they all knew of their… hatred of one another, but they still looked on with interest at what would happen.

"Professor?" she began, and he snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

"Potter!" he snapped, apparently forgetting that Ivy was now friends with his godson, and the guest of his Lord, in his surprise, "What are you doing here?! How did you even get in here?! I thought the manor was warded!"

"Yes, it is," replied a soft voice from the end of the table, from Voldemort, who had stood up at the shouts of the angry potions master. "I believe, Severus, that I invited Miss Potter to spend the Summer at Malfoy manor for multiple reasons." Snape paled, as he realised that he had spoken out against the guest of the Dark Lord, who continued, "I _did_ say that there would be consequences for anyone who did not treat my guest, Miss Potter, with the utmost respect, and I'm afraid that you have not done such a thing, Severus."

As if bracing himself for what he was sure to be the Cruciatus curse, Snape winced slightly and made himself slightly smaller, a little rabbit shivering in fear at the massive hawk, coming to feast on its soon to be carcass. It was a rather amusing thought, Ivy admitted, but still, it was wrong, especially after everything she went through at the Dursleys. At least in her eyes, torture was something she did not want to see.

So, to everyone's surprise, Ivy stood up and stood in front of Snape, "Tom, that won't be necessary. No torturing in front of me, okay?" Although no one did such a thing, many thought of laughing at the young, little Ivy Potter telling off big bad Dark Lord Voldemort.

"Ivy, he mistreated you, has done for five years!" Voldemort shouted at her – though his eyes did soften a bit at realising that it reminded her of the Dursleys, but still, whoever doesn't treat her right should be punished – and many Death Eaters leaned away in fear of the foul mood he was in, though Bellatrix and Narcissa noticed that Potter's puppy-dog eyes were working wonders on the usually unmoveable Dark Lord, and they shared a look with a smirk.

Still, Ivy stood her ground, not even cowering a little bit at his mood, even though she had been on the receiving end of one of his Crucios before. "Tom, it's not my fault, nor is it his. My father was a horrid man for the most part, and although he mellowed out near the end and became a wonderful father, he wasn't the best role model at Hogwarts, to put it lightly. Just let this serve as a warning. And anyways," she shrugged, "I didn't say that you had to give up your torturing hobby, just don't do it in front of me."

And to everyone's surprise, Voldemort rolled his eyes and pocketed his wand, before glared at Snape, "Very well. Let this be your warning, _Severus_. Don't you dare break any other rules of mine, because Miss Potter might not always be there to save you." Voldemort sighed and sat back down at the end of the table as he continued with conversing with some of the Inner circle, and Ivy nodded and turned around to face Snape.

"I know that you and mum were best friends, and I know that she would have forgiven you for what you did, because I forgive you for treating me like the worst thing to possibly ever happen to you, and for something that I didn't even do," Ivy told him. Snape looked at her in horror at having found out about his friendship with her mother, but she also saw a glint of _something_ in his eyes, and then she noticed that it was almost his way of saying, _'Thank you, I needed to hear that.'_ She nodded, and then she turned around and went to sit next to Voldemort once more, eating a small slice of toast, never all that hungry. However, she saw the looks she was receiving from Tom, Rodolphus, and surprisingly Bellatrix, at her not eating enough.

Ivy sighed and, rolling her eyes, leaned forward to pick up another slice of toast. It was slightly bigger this time, and the looks from the three adults lessened in how strict they were. Sighing once more, she smiled slightly at the unusual thought of adults actually caring about her.

It was so weird!

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

It was nearing midday, and Tom was standing alone in his personal chamber getting ready for his meeting with Dumbledore. He needed to wear a glamour that cannot be removed by anyone but himself, and it helped that Ivy had given him his ring earlier so that he could disguise himself perfectly with no hardship.

She also gave him something she made when she was younger and living at the Dursleys, as a way to thank him for everything he had done. He had promptly thanked her and placed it in his pocket to keep safe. It may come in handy later. She had also asked if her friends (those who she was sure wouldn't betray them) could come over. Tom told her to send them a portkey, and she presented him with more things that she had made to pass the time as a child. He made each a portkey, and she grinned and thanked him, making his heart melt a little. He ignored it though as she ran off to her owl that she hadn't seen since two days ago.

He changed his face to that of innocence, and his hair to light brown, pretty much almost blond, and straight. Actually, it looked pretty similar to Ivy's disguise, which he might have taken some inspiration from. His eyes turned to a sky-blue, similar to Ivy's disguise, and he changed his skin tone to just one or two shades darker than his almost unhuman pale skin. It wasn't a drastic change, but it was better to make sure that Dumbledore didn't suspect anything.

Tom whispered, **"Hide,"** to the ring, which disappeared from sight, though he could still feel it there. It was so Dumbledore didn't see that it was a Slytherin heirloom, and something only a Parselmouth could use. Tom didn't want that manipulative coot finding out that it's actually Voldemort in disguise. That was the last thing he needed.

He decided that it would be best if he would be Corvus Malfoy, a distant cousin of Lucius Malfoy. He would say that he was raised by a Light family from France, and that he was being hunted by the Dark Lord to be either marked or tortured and killed, since he had hidden himself from the Death Eaters before. He would say that he had a passion for Defence Against the Dark Arts, and he wished to teach at Hogwarts, simultaneously pursuing his dreams while being protected from the Dark Lord. He wouldn't say, though, that of course, this was all lies.

A Corvus Malfoy didn't actually exist.

Not that Dumbles would care.

At all.

Making sure that he was dressed in clothes fit for a Malfoy, he used the floo in his private chambers to get to the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. The old goat stood and walked to 'Corvus', and shook his hand while happily greeting, "Good afternoon, Corvus."

"Good afternoon, Headmaster," Tom refrained from cringing, "I believe that we are here to see if I'm fit to be the next Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, yes?"

"Yes, yes, of course, Corvus, my boy," he replied while Tom shivered at his grandfatherly act, and he took out some files that Lucius and Severus had put together so that Dumbledore wouldn't suspect anything suspicious was going on. "It says here that you had been raised by the Dubois family, in France. They are known to be a Light family, yes?"

"That is correct, Headmaster." Honestly, the old coot was just saying everything that was on there. He had better things to do with his time.

"I see. And you have a passion for Defence Against the Dark Arts and have always wanted to be a professor but couldn't because of being hunted by Death Eaters for being related to one of their own, Lucius Malfoy?" the old man once again repeated from the profile. Tom nodded again, wondering why he thought that being in such close proximity to Dumbledora the Explorer (one of his favourites that Ivy had called the headmaster once) was a good idea, but then he remembered all of Ivy's horrible memories of Defence Against the Dark Arts professors, and how it was all his fault, and it created a massive ball of guilt in his stomach that he had never felt before. He wanted so hard to make it better for her, and if being forced to spend a little bit of time with the most annoying and nosey manipulator in the history of mankind was the only way to do it, then so be it.

"That is also true, Headmaster," he let out a little smile.

"And do you have any family do you require to visit during term if I do indeed hire you?" the headmaster inquired, probably just wanting to know as much as possible about this relative of the Dark Malfoy family. After all, he had never herd of Corvus Malfoy before, and he was a new piece on the chess board that could help the conniving old man. Tom mentally snorted, _'Yeah, right.'_

"My family is now all dead, having become victims to Death Eaters in the past, though I do have some close friends that I would like to visit during a few days in the holidays, if possible?" he asked his first question. He knew he shouldn't ask too many or the old man would think that he was searching for information himself. Hypocrite.

"Of course, of course, my boy, you may visit your friends during the holidays," the headmaster joyfully told him, probably thinking that he couldn't be Dark now since he had such good friends that he wanted to visit them. Honestly, what if he was friends with Death Eaters- oh wait, he was.

He nodded his head. "Thank you, Headmaster. Is that everything?" he asked.

"Yes, my boy, that's all. I will owl you to inform you if you got the job or not," he happily returned, and Tom gave him a smile that he hoped wasn't as fake as it felt.

"Thank you very much, Headmaster. I will make my way home now."

"Of course, my boy. Off you go!" he smiled, and Tom stood and quickly left. He didn't want to spend any more time here than he'd have to. He left the office of the headmaster, and instead of leaving the school to apparate back home, he headed to the office of the Gryffindor Head of House. Ivy had told him that while she had ignored the Trio in their First Year, after being proven wrong, the Transfiguration professor helped them as much as possible, and Ivy was certain that she'd listen to them once they explained everything that Dumbledore had done to her and Tom.

The boy in question knocked on the door, which opened, revealing the seventy-year old witch, "And who may you be?"

He certainly didn't look like any student of hers, what with his high, sophisticated pureblood cheekbones and bright blue eyes and light brown hair. His clothes seemed incredibly expensive as well, but she couldn't remember any student of hers that look like this, and who was a pureblood. Tom nervously coughed (damn Ivy for making him have more human tics) and said, **"Stop."**

Quickly, his appearance changed back to what he looked like before, and Professor McGonagall gasped at the sight of Tom Marvolo Riddle in all his glory, "Riddle!" They had been somewhat rivals at school. Both in the same year, one in Slytherin and one in Gryffindor, Tom being the brightest student of the age and Minerva being the best at Transfiguration, even better than Tom. It was bound to happen.

"Nice to see you again, McGonagall," he smirked and she quickly lifted her wand and pointed it against him. Off to a wonderful start.

 **A/N: Hey, y'all…**

 **So, I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for at least three weeks, but a ton of things have happened these past few weeks that made me unable to write anything, whether if it was because I had little time, I was really ill, or I just didn't have enough inspiration. Still, I'm better now and I've found some time to post this so here you go, and I'm sorry.**

 **Anyways, I hope you've all had a great day so far and that you've liked this chapter. :)**

 **Enjoy!**


	11. Summer Part 4

_**Chapter 11:**_ _ **(3620 words)**_

He didn't move at all, knowing that if he played things right, he would have no reason to worry. "Riddle, I have no clue what you're doing here but I'll certainly be dealing with you!"

"Now, now, McGonagall. Don't you want to hear what I have to say?" he raised an eyebrow to accompany his expecting smirk. The Gryffindor witch glared at him furiously, but reluctantly nodded and gestured for him to speak. "I assume that, after teaching here for a while, you'd have noticed how some of your students are sure to become Death Eaters once they graduate from Hogwarts?" Seeing that he was getting on her nerves, Tom continued with a barely hidden smirk, "It was shown to me a week ago just how many students that was. There's even some from your House, did you know?"

She gaped at him, "Gryffindor Death Eaters?!"

"Of course," he gave her an obvious look, "A prime example is Peter Pettigrew. Surely you know by now that Sirius Black was innocent?"

"Well of course I know that, Albus told me," she promptly replied, and Tom sighed. Apparently, this was going to be harder than he thought. "I don't see the point of you telling me this, Riddle."

"It's obvious, McGonagall; I am almost positively certain that once the Fifth Years, almost Sixth Years, graduate, I'll be sure to win this war. It is your choice if you give my side a chance. A lot of people you care about are with me and the Dark," he informed her and she growled at him.

"Take me to them," she ordered, gripping her wand tighter as she pointed it directly at his heart. Her eyes were filled with determination but Tom could see the worry within them. She probably assumed that he was keeping them captive.

"Of course," he nodded, and he gave her a little stone that Ivy had painted as a child. She had given it to him earlier; and it was decorated with beautiful patterns of snakes and leaves in gorgeous shades of brown, black, green, and some hints of red. Apparently, she had seen a picture of a snake in a school book and thought that the creatures were wonderful. "This is a portkey to my base. The word to say is 'Loyalty'. You will land in the Meeting Hall, which should be empty. Severus will meet you there." And with that, he hissed, **"Change,"** to his ring and turned back into 'Corvus Malfoy'. "Nice talking with you, McGonagall," he smirked, and left the office.

Minerva stood in the centre of the room, her wand still aiming towards where the door – now closed – was situated. She wasn't sure what to think, but what she did know was that she wanted to find out who Riddle was talking about when he said 'a lot of people you care about'. It could just mean Gryffindors, though it _could_ mean people who would make her unable to live with herself if they died and she wasn't there to help.

She glanced at the portkey in her hand and was surprised to see that it was a hand-painted stone. Certain that Riddle definitely wasn't the one who painted it, she wondered who it could have been. Minerva assumed that it was a Slytherin, what with the snakes coiling around the beautifully painted rock. Whoever gave it to Riddle either cared for him very much or… didn't have much of a choice. She guessed that it was the former option, only for the reason that Riddle wouldn't bother himself with stealing such a trivial item. Despite the snakes coiling around it, it was still a rock. This made her wonder who could have possibly cared enough for Riddle to give him something that obviously took a very long time.

Not being able to think of anything else to delay her decision, she sighed. Knowing that it was dangerous, but worth it, she whispered, "Loyalty," whilst gripping the stone in her hand.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

 _-One hour earlier-_

Ivy grinned as she sent Hedwig off with four letters in her claws, each containing a uniquely painted rock within. One was heading to Hermione, one to Neville, another to Luna, and the other to the twins, who would tell Ginny and bring her along. The black-haired witch couldn't wait to see her friends again, and to introduce them to Tom.

Although he hadn't said anything when she went to give him one of her favourite rocks, she was expecting him to talk to Professor McGonagall somehow, despite not knowing where he was going. She remembered that look in his eyes as she told him about how she trusted the witch, that look that spoke volumes of what Tom what do to her. She quickly left, a blushing mess, though she doubted that he noticed, since he was doing quite a bit of blushing himself.

A few hours before, Ivy had to explain after breakfast everything that had happened to her Slytherin school friends, and when she showed them some of the letters, she blushed at the comments of how nice he was being to her. They definitely didn't miss those, that's for sure, what with all of the teasing that followed.

Oh well, at least there was no mistrust between them, and her other friends would hopefully be arriving soon, and possibly Professor McGonagall too; she knew how persuasive Tom could be. Her life could be better, but she was happy and safe and that was more than she'd ever had.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Having finished all of her school work, Hermione didn't really have anything else to do but read. However, for the first time in her life, she didn't really feel like reading. She was much to excited to see her friend and finally be on a side of the war in which she felt excepted and happy. She was also worried about Ivy, since she had been told by the black-haired witch a long time ago that her uncle wasn't… the _nicest_ relative ever.

And that was why her heart skipped a beat when a very familiar snowy owl landed on her open window sill, "Hedwig!"

Hermione raced to the owl and plucked a letter from the collection that had her name on it, in the normal chicken scratch of her best friend. "Thanks, Hedwig. You can deliver the rest of your letters now, I'll reply to Ivy when I get there. Bye!" Hedwig hooted as she flew off, and with nothing left to do, Hermione ripped open the envelope. She opened the letter and quickly skimmed through what she was being told: Ivy was injured but got healed by one of the Lestrange brothers; Tom was as nice as he was in the letters (at least to her he was); and that there was… a portkey in the envelope? Hermione put the letter down on her desk and looking in the envelope, she saw a purple and dark blue coloured stone within.

She picked it up and looked at it closely, a pattern of intertwining flowers, their stalks in light green and petals in dark purple and black, surrounded by petals of dark blue and purple, and miniature silhouettes of birds in white and light blue. Hermione noticed the rather discrete nod towards Ravenclaw and shook her head, how many rocks had her friend painted to have one for every occasion?

Hermione had to admit that the painting was beautiful and wasn't all that surprised that it was Ivy who did the painting; her friend was incredibly talented when doing something she loved. Examples including flying, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and, of course, painting. She had caught glimpses of sketches that her friend had done over the years. Hell, she had even saw one that was a portrait of her at thirteen, a few days before she was petrified in Second Year. A portkey, huh? She'd have to tell her parents first before she left.

"Mum, dad!" Hermione called as she ran down the stairs.

"Yes, my dear?" her mother replied from the kitchen, where she was reading a magazine about holiday destinations, and her father was cleaning up from lunch.

"I just got a letter from Ivy, there's a portkey in it." Seeing the looks of confusion, she quickly explained, "It's an object that teleports you to somewhere else. Sometimes it's the only way to get somewhere if you don't know where you're going. I trust my friend."

Her parents shared a look, before her father turned to look at her, "Do you mind telling us where you're going? And how long you will be staying there?"

"I don't mind at all, dad," she smiled, "You can always send a letter with Hedwig. I'll ask Ivy if she can come around every once in a while to see if you have a letter. Ivy's an orphan and very alone, but she made a friend and since she doesn't have the best home life, she's staying with him. Some of our other friends and I said that we'd visit and check in all the time. We're all very close," a grimace sprouted on her face, "except from Ron, he's a bastar-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, young lady," her mother sternly told her, though there was a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"I'll probably spend the night, and come back tomorrow, though there'll be likely to be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing from there and here, and our friends' houses," Hermione told her parents. "I won't need to take anything, her friend lives in a manor. And yes," she quickly interrupted her parents, "I'll be sure to look after myself _and_ my teeth."

Their looks softened. "Alright, Hermy," her father told her, and she gave him and her mother a hug.

"I love you both," she smiled, before running up to her room, and saying to the rock in her hand, with a roll of her eyes, "Slytherin is better than Ravenclaw."

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Neville sighed as he hid out in his greenhouses at Longbottom manor. While he loved his home purely for the reason that his father grew up here and that he himself grew up here, he still despised it far more than he could ever love it. His grandmother made his life miserable, always going on about how unworthy he was of being a Longbottom. He didn't particularly mind, he'd much rather be in the same family as his friends. He closed his eyes as he thought of how much better his life would be if he was a Granger, or a Lovegood, or even a Potter. While he didn't like it, he was used to not having parents, despite them still being alive. It's not like they even remember him anywa-

His thoughts were cut off as a scratching noise reached his ears. He opened his eyes and saw Hedwig scratching her claws against some plant pots as a way of getting his attention. "Oh, hi Hedwig. Wait… Hedwig! Does Ivy have anything to say?"

The snowy owl hooted at the boy, and raised a leg, to which he promptly took an envelope and opened it. The first thing he noticed was that there was a painted rock inside and he took it out to inspect it, whilst telling Hedwig that she could carry on with her honourable job.

The background of the painting was a warm sunny yellow, probably a nod to which house he was descended from. There were swirls of white and light orange all over the rock, with the black shadowy silhouettes of a group of wolf-looking creatures, though Neville supposed that they could be badgers if one squinted their eyes. In one word, the painting was magnificent and Neville was now excited to read the letter sent to him by Ivy. Reading through it told him that Ivy was safe and sound, and with Tom, the one who ordered the death of him and his parents. _'No,'_ he shook his head, _'That was the prophecy's fault, and Dumbledore's.'_ He also read the part about the rock being a portkey to the main base of the Dark side, and he smirked as he thought about what his grandmother's reaction would be to that.

Not even hesitating, he whispered, "Slytherin is better than Hufflepuff."

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

"Psst. Hey, Forge," Fred whispered to his twin brother, as they sat waiting for Ginny to bring them a snack. They three of them had been ignoring Ron and Percy as much as possible since they had arrived, much to the confusion of their parents. They didn't care much for the twins, since they were such 'disappointments', but they cared about Ginny. Well… 'cared' was a pretty lax term. They only saw her as a girl that they could marry off into a rich family to rise their status. To be honest, that was mostly their mother, who had practically brainwashed their father. Arthur still checked up on them to see how they were doing, while their mother couldn't care less.

"Yes, Gred?" George replied.

"Do you think Ivy's alright?"

"I'm sure she is. She may seem all small and cuddly most of the time, but she's a strong person. She'll be fine," his brother responded, and Fred sighed with relief. He had been worried ever since the Hogwarts Express reached the King's Cross Station, especially after seeing such a sadistic look on her 'uncle's face. George quickly made him calm down, he always knew what to say. The benefits of having a twin, he supposed.

"Thanks, Forge," Fred smiled, but he was cut off when an owl appeared on their windowsill, "Hedwig!"

Ginny entered just then with three sandwiches on a plate that she made herself, and grinned as she saw Hedwig, "Has Ivy sent a letter?" Taking the letter from Hedwig and handing a painted rock to Ginny while she gave the sandwiches to Fred, George read out the letter, and Ginny grinned at the password to the portkey and nodded, "That is very true." Her brothers agreed.

She then looked at the rock, having noticed that it was painted. There were stripes of dark blood red on them over a background of black, and dots of bright golden yellow forming little patterns of flowers and birds all over the rock. "Wow," they all said at the same time, and Fred mumbled, "Ivy made that when she was _seven_?"

George re-read the letter and nodded, "Yep, that's what it says here."

"Let's go!" Ginny whispered. They had to be quiet so that Percy and Ron wouldn't hear them talking about things like the Dark side.

"Now, now, Gin," Fred raised his hands, and gestured to the sandwiches, "We should eat these delicacies first."

"Fine, fine, fine," she quickly repeated, and grabbed one before devouring it quickly, followed by his older twin brothers a minute later. At her pleading, begging looks, George and Fred sighed and nodded simultaneously, before reaching out to have a finger each on the rock, Ginny doing the same. She then spoke the password, "Slytherin is better than Gryffindor."

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Walking in the meadows by her house, Luna wondered if her friends truly cared for her. She had never really had friends before until just a small while ago, she had risked her life for a girl that she had hardly met but found interesting enough to learn more about.

Though no one knew it (she was suspicious that Ivy assumed), her mother was a seer, and had passed the trait to her. It had never really showed her anything important, but the day before she left for her first year at Hogwarts, she had a vision. In it, she saw a girl whose face was shadowy so that she couldn't see any features. She seemed young, perhaps a year or so older than her, and had long black hair. And then, just for a moment, she saw a flash of green where eyes were supposed to be: the colour of the Avada Kedavra curse. She then saw herself and this girl together, far into the future… a friend. She had never had a friend. She snapped out of it soon after that, unsure of who this mystery girl was, but she soon found out when she went to Hogwarts the next day. Ivy Potter. The famous Girl-Who-Lived, and they would be friends? That seemed pretty hard to believe. But then, when she met her in her Fourth Year, she found that Ivy was actually pretty dorky, and more of a Slytherin than a Gryffindor. Someone… who didn't fit inside the norm. That was what made them such good friends. They were both different, and perhaps both slightly crazy, and Ivy always listened to her blabber on about creatures that only she could see.

Now certain that her friends did care for her, she smiled and leaned against a tree, smelling the gorgeous white flowers and the fresh Summer air.

Just then, an owl flew down next to her. Not even needing to look at the owl to know which one it was, she politely asked, "Did Ivy send anything?" Hedwig stuck out a leg and Ivy opened the envelope to find a letter and a rock within. "Oooh, pretty." She put the rock in her pocket and read the letter, letting out a sigh of relief at the knowledge of her first ever friend's safety.

Luna then took the stone from her pocket and looked at it. She didn't know that Ivy liked art, but she wasn't that overly surprised; her friend could be very creative, and she had an imaginative mind despite being abused (Ivy had told her before).

The stone's naturally smooth silver surface could be seen beneath the painting, which contained peacocks in turquoise and purple, with the eyes being bright yellow. They seemed to be fluttering around each other, with little green leaves surrounding their graceful frames. Luna smiled softly as she touched the smooth rock and the beautiful painting. Even before years of even knowing that magic existed, Ivy had painted a rock that suited her perfectly. Wait… could- could Ivy be a seer as well? The thought made her slowly stand with a look of realisation on her face. Could that be what her vision all those years ago was about? Why they were talking to each other? Why she even had a vision of her in the first place? It… it was certainly possible. She'd have to ask her about it later.

Luna raced to her father, "Daddy, can I go to my friend's house? I'll probably stay over, if that's okay?"

He looked at her. She hardly ever lied to him, and he didn't have a reason to not let her go, "… Very well, my little moon. Just… stay safe and come back tomorrow, yes?"

"Of course, daddy. Love you!" she called as she raced outside.

As she left, she heard her father call back, "I love you too!"

Reaching the tree that she was leaning on earlier, she took one more look at her stone before enclosing it with her hand, and saying out loud, with a little smirk at the assumption that it wasn't Ivy who came up with the code, "Ivy is better than Slytherin."

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

The six friends landed as a heap on the floor of a large room, with a long table in the centre, pretty much at the same time. They had landed near the large doors that were obviously the main entrance to the room. They helped each other up, and rather spontaneously, Ginny asked what password they got for their pretty stone. Neville smiled as he remembered, "Mine was 'Slytherin is better than Hufflepuff'."

"Really?" Hermione blinked, "I got 'Slytherin is better than Ravenclaw'."

"Huh," Fred spoke up, "Us three got 'Slytherin is better than Gryffindor'."

Ginny turned to her friend, "What about you, Luna? What was your password?"

"Hmm?" she asked with a little smirk, "Oh, mine was 'Ivy is better than Slytherin'. It is quite obvious that the Dark Lord chose the passwords; Ivy would never be less than modest."

The others smirked at each other. Whilst they might not have liked You-Know-Who at first, it was quite obvious that he had it bad for their close friend, or as the twins liked to call her, their little cinnamon roll. Neville then remembered something, "… Hey, Hermione?"

She turned to face him, "Yes?"

"Remember a few days ago, when Ivy said that she wished we were her siblings?" She nodded at his question as the others stopped speaking to each other to listen. "Well, first of all, do you think that we could do a ritual to make that real?" Hermione gasped and her eyes began tearing up as she nodded rapidly and gave Neville a hug. He then continued, "That's great! We'll tell Ivy in a bit. Anyways, do you remember her telling us that she'd like for us to give whoever she chose to be with the shovel talk?"

Hermione paled as she remembered, before sighing with her hands on her face, "Why us…?"

Fred and George looked at each other before nodding with easy-going grins on their faces, "We'll help you. We care about Ivy too and we're practically her big brothers by now."

The others nodded, and Luna had no doubt that the Dark Lord would be perfectly terrified after the twins' shovel talk. Oh well, all the more reason for him to not hurt her first and best friend. She deserved more happiness than anyone else, though she certainly assumed that Voldemort knew that too.

 **A/N: I wasn't expecting Ivy's friends receiving their letters would take so much time, and now we are at the end of the chapter. :'(**

 **Oh well. I hope you all liked this one. While not much has happened in this chapter, you got to see the points of view of Ivy's friends, and also Luna's… 'secret', and what she assumes to be Ivy's 'secret' as well.**

 **I'm sorry it's been ages but, and I'm sure y'all are tired of excuses but my mom's definitely a hardcore Ravenclaw/Gryffindor and she makes me do tons of revision, and now that exams have started, the amount of revision I'm doing's increased. Also, I've recently moved house, so that's always fun.**

 **Anyways, I just made up the rock patterns, but they sound really pretty anyways. :)**

 **Enjoy!**


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